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BY 

S. L. MORRIS, D. D. 

Executive Secretary of Home Missions, Presbyterian Church in the 

United States 

AUTHOR OF 

"AT OUR OWN DOOR" 



"And there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed." 

—Josh. 13:1 



"Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and 
who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I, send me." — Isa. 6:8. 



Presbyterian Committee of Publication 
Richmond^ Va. 



.Tfcy 



Copyright, 1917, by 

Presbyterian Committee of Publication 

Richmond, Va. 




0,6 



MAR -7 1917 



©CI.A457533 



TO 
MY FAITHFUL WIFE 

The Companion of My Joys and Sorrows 

And to My 

DEAR CHILDREN 

To whom I fain would bequeath the legacy of the unfinished Home 

Mission Task, this volume is most affectionately 

DEDICATED 



RICHMOND PRESS, INC., PRINTERS 



Contents 

Page 

I. The Magnitude of the Task 1 

II. The Equipment for the Task 19 

III. The Scope of Home Missions 32 

IV. Evangelism, Pastoral and Personal 59 

V. The Black Man's Burden 84 

VI. Church Erection 112 

VII. Mission Schools 128 

VIII. America, the Melting Pot. . , 159 

IX. The Country Church and Rural Life. . 187 

X. The Hand of Woman 219 

XI. Training for Service 238 

XII. God's Call to Service 253 

Appendix 278 

Bibliography 285 

Index 290 



illustration* 



Page 

The Field of A merican Home Missions 5 

Religious Census of Southern States 11 

The Problem of American Christianity 62 

Stillman Institute and the Sam Daily Reformatory 102 

Two Kinds of Monuments 123 

Oklahoma Presbyterian College and Senior Class 149 

Samples of Foreign Work in America 178 

Rev. C. W. Grafton, D. D.—A Country Pastor 208 

Ancient Memorial Tablet 224 

Pioneers in Woman s Work 227 

Activities of the Woman s Auxiliary 232 

Dr. E. 0. Guerrant and Mountain Missions 248 

Our "Farthest West" Missionary 258 



preface 



The dawn of the Twentieth Century found the church facing a unique 
Home Mission situation in America. The existing regime which had 
identified Home Missions with denominational operations for minis- 
tering chiefly to pioneer conditions in frontier regions, came gradually 
to an end. New situations, involving acute problems, arising from eco- 
nomic, social and moral conditions, thrust themselves into prominence 
everywhere. Political Economists, Social Reformers and Christian 
Philanthropists were beginning to exercise thought and enlist their 
sympathies to meet the domestic crisis, induced by increasing immigra- 
tion, social unrest, the declining country church, overcrowding in cities, 
isolated mountain people, and other backward classes. The Church, 
occupied with its individual denominational propaganda, and in the 
throes of a nation-wide Forward Movement in Foreign Missions, failed 
to recognize promptly the Home Mission crisis which had sprung up 
over night. 

Such was the status of affairs when the Young People's Missionary 
Movement was inaugurated by the leading denominations of the 
country. Those who represented the Presbyterian Church in the 
United States were Reverends A. L. Phillips, W. R. Dobyns, S. H. 
Chester, H. F. Williams and S. L. Morris. The first convention was 
held at Lookout Mountain, Tenn., near Chattanooga, July 1-8, 1903. 
Foreign Mission text books were in abundance, but all parties were 
embarrassed by lack of suitable material for presenting the needs and 
claims of Home Missions. The only available books were "Our Coun- 
try," by Josiah Strong; "Leavening the Nation," by Joseph B. Clark; 
"Presbyterian Home Missions," by Sherman H. Doyle; "Under Our 
Flag," by Alice Guernsey, and "The Minute Man on the Frontier," 
by W. G. Puddefoot. They were valuable, but not specially adapted 
to our section. Not a Home Mission book had ever been produced 
by the South, discussing its peculiar problems, The Great Southwest, 
The Mountaineer, The Negro, The Indian, etc. This convention, 
through Dr. A. L. Phillips as spokesman, challenged the writer to pre- 
pare a Home Mission text book for the South. Two days after the 
convention adjourned, the preparation of "At Our Own Door" was 



vin PREFACE. 

begun and the manuscript was ready for the publisher within three 
months. It was the pioneer treatise on Home Missions for the South, 
and met with a generous reception, passing through seven editions. 

The development of Home Mission ideals and the growth of the 
work now demand a supplemental treatise dealing with other phases 
of the subject, as the changes during the last decade render the first 
book incomplete. This second book will be no duplication of the 
first, with one possible exception. "At Our Own Door," originally 
contained no chapter on Immigration. In its seventh and revised edi- 
tion, such a chapter was added. Inasmuch, however, as the larger 
number have the unrevised earlier editions and would not possess other- 
wise a complete treatment of the subject, it has been decided to incor- 
porate the new chapter on Immigration, enlarged and revised, in this 
volume, so that the reader will then be in full possession of the 
different phases of the Home Mission problem. 

Much of the material used by the author has been adapted from 
addresses delivered on various occasions, which will account for forms 
of expression and the style of large portions of it, as well as the allusions 
occasionally to the same conditions and needs of the work. 

Mrs. W. C. Winsborough, the efficient superintendent of the Woman's 
Auxiliary, has kindly consented to prepare the chapter on "The Hand 
of Woman" in the work of the Church. 

The author hereby acknowledges his indebtedness for valuable 
assistance to Dr. Homer McMillan, his esteemed colleague; to Miss 
Barbara E. Lambdin, for preparing the helpful questionnaire of the 
appendix; and to Miss Eleanora A. Berry, for the exhaustive catalogue 
of Home Mission books in the Bibliography, which will suggest in- 
valuable material for further research and indicate the wide develop- 
ment of Home Mission literature in the past ten years. 

If this second literary venture in behalf of the cause to which the 
author has devoted his life at the call of his Church, should result in 
still further intensifying the interest and stimulating the activities of 
the Church in the task of Christianizing Christendom, he will be more 
than satisfied. 

SAMUEL LESLIE MORRIS. 

Atlanta, Ga. 



®fje Casfe Ctjat Challenge* 



i. 

THE MAGNITUDE OF THE TASK. 

The two greatest enterprises confronting the Church of 
the Twentieth Century are the Evangelization of the World 
and the Christianization of America. The first is the aim 
and purpose of the department of Church operations known 
as Foreign Missions. The second is the task of the co- 
ordinate department designated Home Missions. The 
two stand to each other in the relation of circumference 
and circle, and to enlarge the circumference is to increase 
the area included in the circle. The successes of Foreign 
Missions, therefore, necessarily enlarge the sphere of Home 
Missions. 

Mutual Dependence. 

They are as mutually dependent for the advance of the 
Kingdom of Christ as the two oars of a boat, or the two 
departments of an army. The one is an advance guard 
for exploiting new territory, and the other is the base of 
supplies for sustaining the march. The one advances into 
new territory, establishing outposts; the other subjugates 
and assimilates it as an integral part of the Kingdom. If 
the 25,000,000 heathen assumed by the Presbyterian 
Church in the United States as its proportionate share in 
the Evangelization of the World were reached by the 
Gospel, it would ipso facto add these millions to the Home 
Mission task. 

Consequently, the end of the Foreign Mission campaign 
is but the beginning of the Home Mission task. It is 
possible to conceive of the Foreign Mission work of the 



2 The Task That Challenges 

Church as practically finished ; to forecast a time when the 
last man "unto the uttermost part of the earth" will have 
heard the gospel story of the cross. The missionary slogan 
of the age, heard in pulpit and on convention platform, is 
the Evangelization of the World in this generation. It is 
not possible, however, to imagine the Home Mission task 
as finished. It is as eternal and perpetual as the genera- 
tions of men yet unborn. 

In the strictest sense the two are inseparably connected 
and to a large extent simultaneous. At the very moment 
we are striving to evangelize the heathen, we cannot be 
any the less strenuous in our efforts to save America, and 
vice versa. The distinction between the two departments 
is gradually being obliterated. The incoming of a million 
foreigners annually into the United States is transferring 
the battle with heathenism largely to our own shore; and 
the statement has recently been made by an eminent au- 
thority that Evangelical Christianity is losing in the United 
States and Great Britain as many as we are gaining in 
converts on heathen shores. In one of his addresses, John 
R. Mott said recently: "It is a remarkable concurrence of 
divine providence that at the very moment unprecedented 
world opportunities challenge the Church abroad, there is 
the fiercest conflict raging for the possession of our own 
country," being conclusive evidence in his judgment that 
God has unbounded confidence in the men of this genera- 
tion. 

In his thoughtful treatise, "The Mission of Our Nation," 
Dr. Jno. F. Love, Secretary of the Foreign Mission Board 
of the Southern Baptist Convention, affirms: "The man 
who minimizes the importance of any department of mis- 
sions leaves himself without ground for the strongest ap- 
peal for any department of missions. 

"We shall never be able to develop a great conscience 
concerning any one department of our missionary work, 
except we develop a great conscience concerning it all. 



The Magnitude of the Task 3 

"Though he may not think so himself, a man whose 
appeal is wholly for Foreign Missions may be as truly 
provincial as one who is all for Home Missions, for his field 
does not comprehend the w r hole world." 

With equal emphasis in "The Frontier," the late Dr. 
Ward Piatt, Secretary of the Board of Home Missions of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church, inquires: "Have we not 
come to a time when we must, of necessity, arise and save 
our own land, if humanity is to be saved? America for 
Christ means the world for Christ, but the whole round 
world for Christ means all America as his." 

An Unfinished Task. 

In the whole real of America, there is no such thing as 
a saved state, or county, or even a city. There is no ham- 
let so small that it can be regarded as thoroughly Chris- 
tianized. Everywhere in the most model community 
there is some chaff among the wheat, and perhaps in most 
sections the chaff predominates. This necessarily makes 
the scope of Home Missions co-extensive with the bounds 
of the continent. 

The most superficial consideration cannot fail to show 
the Home Mission task in large dimensions, and even at 
the risk of rehearsing some things as familiar as twice-told 
tales, there are certain elements entering into it, which 
magnify not simply its proportions, but its transcendent 
importance in its vital relation to the Kingdom of God. 

Area. 

Only by comparisons can there be any adequate appre- 
ciation of the area of our country. It is a land of magnifi- 
cent distances and limitless bounds. China proper could 
easily be accommodated in our great West, with sufficient 
territory left to include several of the great world powers. 
Japan could be laid down on the map of California, and 
still leave room for Korea. Texas could include the Ger- 



4 The Task That Challenges 

man Empire and England, and perhaps furnish abundance 
of additional ground for their gigantic battle fields. Leav- 
ing out Russia, nearly all Europe could be hidden in the 
eighteen states occupied by the Presbyterian Church in 
the United States. 

Dr. Newell Dwight Hillis, in a very striking way, empha- 
sizes these same startling facts: "So vast is our country that 
many of us who have lived here a lifetime cannot compre- 
hend its extent, because we have not traveled over it. 
Think of the achievements of Germany, the history of 
France, the glories of Italy. Here we have a single state 
named Texas into which the greater part of Germany, 
France and Italy could be swept. Simply to understand 
that vast state, you must take the cars and travel all day 
long through wide forests. Then take the cars and travel 
another day through the rich rice fields. The third day 
will carry you across the pastures and meadows, covered 
with herds and flocks. Yet that state but faintly images 
the country as a whole. Why, you can put all France into 
New York, New England and Ohio. You can drop Ger- 
many, Austria, Italy and Spain, with Switzerland and 
Portugal, into the states east of the Mississippi. Then you 
can put China into the states north of the Red River and 
west of the Mississippi, Texas will swallow Great Britain, 
Ireland, Denmark, Holland and Belgium. Now drop 
Japan into California, like a stone splashing in a lake. 
Oregon and Washington will be left for any chance nation 
in Christendom that we may have forgotten; and then 
Alaska will open her capacious arms and offer to take them 
all in again." 

Confining our study to the area embraced in the South, 
it aggregates 1,205,720 square miles. Texas, an empire 
within itself, contains 265,780 square miles. W. E. 
Doughty, Educational Secretary of the Laymen's Mis- 
sionary Movement, asserts: "If France were an island and 
Texas a sea, and the island were in the midst of the sea, 



The Magnitude of the Task 




6 The Task That Challenges 

the people of the island would be out of sight of land in 
every direction." The distance between El Paso and 
Texarkana in the state of Texas is as great as from Rome 
to London, and it takes a fast train twenty-four hours to 
make this journey across the state. Arizona is about 
the size of Italy, and New Mexico but slightly smaller than 
Great Britain, and the distance across these two states is 
as far as from New York to Chicago. 

Unoccupied Land. 

In connection with the meeting of the Commercial Con- 
gress in Mobile, Ala., during 1913, the statement appeared 
in the public press that the South contained 400,000,000 
acres of fertile but uncultivated land, practically one-half 
of its total area. Arizona has the largest untouched forest 
in the United States. Is it any wonder that Clarence 
Hamilton Poe declares in the World's Work: "The last 
fifty years have seen the making of a dozen new common- 
wealths beyond the Mississippi; the next fifty years will 
see the remaking of a dozen old commonwealths below 
Mason and Dixon's line. From 1900 to 1950 the South 
will be the land of opportunity. As our epic of the Nine- 
teenth Century was "The Winning of the West," so our 
epic of the Twentieth Century will be "The Development 
of the South." 

Population. 

The Census Bureau of Washington estimated that the 
United States passed the 100,000,000 mark in population 
April 1, 1915, and it must be several millions beyond that 
figure by the present time. As the United States has 
regularly doubled itself every twenty-five years during the 
past one hundred years, should the same rate of increase 
continue for the next hundred years, it will reach the 
enormous number of 1,600,000,000, equal to the present 
population of the globe. Even if the same rate of increase 



The Magnitude of the Task 7 

does not continue, it will still be sufficient to make the 
population enormous. If this seems incredible, consider 
the calculation of W. E. Doughty: "If the United States, 
including Alaska and the island possessions, were as densely 
populated as is the Island of Java, we would have in this 
country one and one-half times the present population 
of the globe, and yet the United States would not then be 
more densely populated than Belgium." The same au- 
thority states: "If we add together the eighteen provinces 
of China proper, Japan, European Turkey, Bulgaria, 
Greece, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, 
Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Denmark and Great 
Britain, they equal about the same geographical area as 
the United States, exclusive of Alaska and our island 
possessions. In the countries named, the census shows a 
population of more than 700,000,000 people." Arkansas, 
Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona and New Mexico 
are equal in area to France, Germany and Austria-Hungary, 
which have a population of 150,000,000. 

According to the last census, the South contained 33,- 
200,000 souls, but that was seven years ago, and it is in- 
creasing at the rate of a half million a year. Statistics 
indicate that the South and West are growing faster than 
any section of our rapidly developing country, and destined 
to increase beyond all calculation as the tide of immigra- 
tion turns more and more southward. A conservative 
estimate gives the South in this year, 1917, at least 36,- 
000,000. Perhaps we already have about as many people 
as the British Isles or France; and in all probability the 
next census will show that we have left these two great 
European powers far behind in numbers. Texas is abun- 
dantly able to support the present population of the United 
States. If it were as densely populated as Rhode Island, 
Texas would contain 135,487,800 people. If the entire 
population of the earth should migrate to Texas, it would 
contain only nine people to the acre. In view of the fact 



8 The Task That Challenges 

that the South embraces the larger part of the Mississippi 
Valley, the Atlantic coast and the fertile plains of the 
Southwest, it is not beyond reason to suppose that the 
time is coming when it will number within its bounds 
500,000,000 people. 

Unreached Masses. 

Classifying the population of the United States, now over 
102,000,000, Dr. H. K. Carroll, who revises the religious 
statistics each year, assigns in round numbers twenty- 
four millions to the Protestant churches, fourteen millions 
to the Roman Catholic, and one million to the Mormon, 
Christian Scientist and other non-evangelical bodies. 
This would leave sixty-three millions unreached by any 
branch of the Church, whether Christian or non-evangelical. 
If we allow one-third for children under ten years of age, 
this would leave 42,000,000 of adults who have never 
even made profession of faith in Christ. If we reckon 
one-half of the church membership of the United States, 
including the non-evangelical, as regenerate, and then add 
the other half to the unsaved who make no profession of 
faith in Christ, there can be no escaping the startling 
conclusion that the most Christian country of the globe 
faces the enormous task of yet reaching more than 60,000,- 
000 of its adult people. Does it shock our Christian con- 
sciousness that these figures indicate the undisputed fact 
that there are more unsaved people in the United States 
than the entire population of the German nation, or of the 
great Japanese Empire, including Korea! 

Allowing to the South one-third of the population of the 
country, it follows that at least 20,000,000 of unsaved 
souls is our responsibility. It must be recognized, how- 
ever, that this is simply a calculation reached by careful 
though fallible human estimates; and that none except 
"the Judge of all the earth" can determine what propor- 
tion of these are saved and the vast number both within 



The Magnitude of the Task 9 

and without the Church who are yet to be reached by the 
gospel of Christ. 

The Work Before Us. 

There are within our bounds more than 19,000,000 per- 
sons not members of any church, Protestant, Roman 
Catholic or Jewish, according to the official United States 
census. These are distributed in round numbers as follows : 

Alabama 1,211,000 or 59% of population 

Arkansas 996,000 or 70% of population 

Florida. . . : . 408,000 or 65% of population 

Georgia 1,415,000 or 57% of population 

Kentucky 1,462,000 or 63% of population 

Louisiana 751,000 or 49% of population 

Maryland 804,000 or 63% of population 

Mississippi 1,051,000 or 62% of population 

Missouri 2,164,000 or 64% of population 

New Mexico 80,000 or 36% of population 

North Carolina 1,236,000 or 60% of population 

Oklahoma 1,157,000 or 82% of population 

South Carolina 788,000 or 54% of population 

Tennessee 1,465,000 or 68% of population 

Texas 2,410,000 or 65% of population 

Virginia 1,180,000 or 60% of population 

West Virginia 776,000 or 72%, of population 

One of the most conservative Home Mission chairmen in 
Arkansas insists that a new denomination could be or- 
ganized in that state, outnumbering all the present com- 
bined membership of the churches without taking one indi- 
vidual from anv other denomination, which statement 
would hold true of most of the other states. W. H. 
Roberts, D. D., American Secretary of the Pan Presby- 
terian Alliance, announced that 60 per cent, of the voters 
of this country are not identified with any branch of the 
Church. 

One hundred years ago, at the beginning of the Nine- 
teenth Century, when the population of the United States 



10 The Task That Challenges 

was three and one-half million, it is claimed that one in 
fourteen was a church communicant. During the Nine- 
teenth Century population increased about 1,500 per cent., 
but church membership increased in the same period over 
10,000 per cent. These were encouraging figures, indi- 
cating that Christianity was winning and that the Home 
Mission task, in spite of its enormous proportions, was 
being accomplished. What a rude shock was the census 
of 1910, showing that while population increased during 
the first decade of the Twentieth Century 21 per cent., 
church membership also increased exactly 21 per cent. 
In other words, during the first decade of this century, the 
Church had only been marking time in the United States. 
It raises the question whether it is not actually falling be- 
hind in the procession, while everything else in this mar- 
velous century is making enormous strides. If the Church 
does not increase infinitely faster than population, what is 
the outlook for the Home Mission task? What the conse- 
quences to the Kingdom for "the evangelization of the 
world in this generation"? What the hope of the world 
even for the Twentieth Century? 

In "The Frontier," by Dr. Ward Piatt, occur such state- 
ments as the following: "Throughout Washington and 
Oregon may be found scores of narrow valleys teeming 
with people. No one is doing anything for them re- 
ligiously, as but little is attempted by any Church for 
Washington or Oregon outside the towns. In southwestern 
Oregon is a county of about 1,500 square miles, in which 
live at least 2,500 people, mostly Americans; and no de- 
nomination, according to report made last year, is doing 
any work whatever in that whole country. They are ab- 
solutely without church privileges." As to Washington, 
he cites a Missionary Superintendent, who declares "the 
religious destitution of western Washington to be appall- 
ing; that outside the larger towns very little religious work 
is being done by any denomination. In his division only 



12 The Task That Challenges 

209 towns out of 1,146 have church organizations, leaving 
937 towns and villages without any religious privileges 
whatever." Probably such extensive areas of destitution 
exist nowhere in the South, except possibly in certain sec- 
tions of the Appalachian Mountains, or in the thinly 
settled territory of Western Texas and New Mexico; but 
whether it exists in large areas or not, it certainly can be 
duplicated in numerous smaller communities, making a 
vast region in the aggregate. 

Perplexing Problems. 

In Home Missionary enterprise the simple life is a thing 
of the past. At the beginning of the Twentieth Century, 
less than two decades ago, there was really but one supreme 
problem. It consisted chiefly in camping on the trail of 
the emigrant drifting ever westward, organizing and build- 
ing new churches in new communities, to accommodate 
the shifting centers of population. It was pioneering on 
the ever-expanding frontier. To-day the entire situation 
is changed, and the Church faces a new world of thought 
and action. 

The frontier returns from circumference back to center. 
It is no longer in the great West simply, far beyond the 
Mississippi, but shifts to the overcrowded cities or our 
disintegrating rural communities. The problems of the 
South are now complicated by their complexity and in- 
tensified by their perplexity. Rural communities are com- 
mitting suicide by emigration, under the magnetic influence 
of our great cities, or else in the hope of purchasing more 
productive lands in the West, and the once vigorous 
country church becomes a Home Mission burden. 

The mountaineers are afflicted with hopeless poverty 
and much of the missionary effort expended in their behalf 
promises instead of self-support a never-ending expenditure 
of money commensurate with their dire need. 

Nine million Negroes in the South bring the Frontier 



The Magnitude of. the Task 13 

into every man's back yard and kitchen; and the helping 
hand extended to them in their pathetic need can never be 
withdrawn without the possibility of their relapsing speedily 
into heathenism. Mill populations are so migratory as 
to make them the despair alike of Christian philanthropists 
and ecclesiastical statesmen. Mining towns and lumber 
camps, isolated from home influences of mothers and 
sisters, have always been well-nigh hopeless from a religious 
standpoint, and the problem is still further complicated by 
the admixture of alien people and the introduction of 
national jealousies flaring up at times into actual warfare 
and bloodshed. 

This suggests the further problem of the incoming of 
heterogeneous masses of immigrants into the South, which 
was until quite recently the purest Anglo-Saxon section of 
America. It would also be a debatable question whether 
the city slums, with their awful degradation and hopeless 
wretchedness; or the fashionable suburbs, w r ith automobiles 
and golf links practically abrogating the Christian Sabbath, 
is the more perplexing problem. Perhaps there is no sec- 
tion of the globe that presents such an admixture of white 
and colored, native and alien, urban and rural, factory and 
aristocracy, as does the South. 

Is it any wonder at the Southern Baptist Conven- 
tion in Baltimore, as Rev. F. B. Meyer stepped from the 
platform and a reporter on the daily paper asked him: 
"Mr. Meyer, you have just traveled around the world 
studying Foreign Missions; tell me, what in your view 
is the greatest mission field in the world"; that quick as a 
flash came the answer: "The United States, because here 
you have all nationalities of the world centered." 

Conflicting Forces. 

If evangelical Christianity were unhindered in its mis- 
sionary purpose to make "our country God's country," the 
magnitude of the task even then might stagger any except 



14 The Task That Challenges 

men of gigantic faith ; but, as in apostolic times, "there are 
many adversaries." Roman Catholicism is sparing neither 
pains nor means to fasten its tentacles like a huge octopus 
upon our country. Already it has the largest membership 
in sixteen states, and controls such cities as Boston and 
New York, maintains a lobby at Washington to influence 
legislation in the interests of its schemes, and practically 
owns the great daily papers. Mormonism is a menace 
to home, society, church and the government. It has 
2,300 missionaries, with the characteristic zeal of fanaticism, 
making a house-to-house canvass of the whole country 
but especially of the South. Christian Science spreads 
its net for the unwary, and entangles in its share the idle 
rich, the superficial thinking, the unbalanced crank, and 
entraps and preys upon the suffering by holding out de- 
lusive hopes of health. The Theosophist, the Spiritualist, 
the Socialist, the Atheist and Russellite are all in the field, 
opposing and withstanding Christianity as Jannes and 
Jambres disputed Moses 3,500 years ago. 

In the early days of Christianity the conflict was with 
Judaism and Paganism. In the Dark Ages it was with a 
corrupt and apostate church. In the Eighteenth Century 
the foe was deism and infidelity. In the Nineteenth Cen- 
tury it was Materialism and Commercialism; but seeing 
his time is short, Satan seems to have marshaled all the 
foes and forces of the past to assault the citadel of faith in 
this Twentieth Century. 

The greatest conflict of the ages is raging in Europe at 
the date of this writing. To a certain extent the whole 
world is more or less involved. France, Belgium, Poland, 
Serbia, Bulgaria and Turkey are a sea of blood, and Europe 
is a house of tears. Yet this material physical conflict, 
which has been raging for three years, though it shocks 
our sensibilities till reason almost staggers, is not the real 
world battle. The Armageddon of the world is the eternal 



The Magnitude of the Task 15 

spiritual struggle, which was never so fierce, so uncompro- 
mising, so gigantic, so momentous as to-day. 

America, the Key to the Situation. 

Mr. W. T. Ellis, who has toured the world in the interest 
of Foreign Missions and has done so much to arouse the 
United States to the necessity of a forward movement, if 
the world is to be speedily evangelized, yet did not lose 
sight of the magnitude of the Home Mission task, and gave 
utterance to a sentiment which has crystallized in the 
Christian consciousness of the country: ''The entire 
Christianization of North America is the greatest single 
enterprise confronting the churches of the whole world." 
This coincides with the statement of Dr. Josiah Strong: 
"He does most to Christianize the world and to hasten the 
coming of the Kingdom who does most to make thoroughly 
Christian the United States." John R. Mott, Secretary 
of the Student Volunteer Movement, clearly understood 
the necessity of a strong base of supplies for evangelizing 
the world when he gave forth the statement, "The greatest 
problem of Foreign Missions is not on the foreign field, 
but on the home field." Dr. Homer McMillan, Secretary 
of Home Missions, is in thorough accord with these posi- 
tions in the statement that "America is the fulcrum and 
the gospel of Christ is the lever that is to lift mankind 
out of the darkness of superstition into the light of truth." 

Surely these quotations from men of profound thought, 
large vision, and world-wide observation, should serve to 
focus the attention of the whole Church, not only on the 
magnitude, but the vital importance of the unfinished and 
ever-expanding Home Mission task. If the Home Mission 
slogan is true, "As goes America, so goes the world," it 
follows inevitably that he who does most to evangelize 
America does most to evangelize the world; and the con- 
verse of the proposition is equally true, that if we cannot 
evangelize America, we cannot evangelize the world. 



16 The Task That Challenges 

Definite Responsibility. 

In Missionary Conventions and Board Conferences, there 
is a growing tendency to divide and limit the responsibility 
of each board and denomination in the task of evangelizing 
the world. The field has been surveyed and the world 
partitioned. It has a noble purpose, the elimination of 
waste forces, and it seeks to unite Christendom in co- 
operative rather than competitive efforts. The ideal is 
worth while, even though practical difficulties and the 
sectarian spirit of certain denominations prevent the full 
realization of this most Christian goal. 

"The Home Missions Council," composed of twenty- 
seven boards and agencies, aided by twelve women's 
boards constituting an auxiliary Council of Women for 
Home Missions, is an effort to apply unselfish principles 
in the Christianization of America. The following resolu- 
tion states clearly the meaning and purpose of the Home 
Missions Council: "It will be noted that our recommenda- 
tions arc not in the direction of union of churches, mis- 
sionaries or missionary societies, but in the direction of 
practicable co-operation, involving increase rather than 
decrease of denominational activity. The course of the 
Home Missions Council is clear. Our one business is to 
push the Christianization of America through the estab- 
lished church agencies. Co-operation is essential in doing 
this. Keeping the issues clarified and simplified, so far as 
we are concerned, we should follow a steady policy and 
adopt vigorous measures for accomplishing two ends: 
One is, the prevention of wasting, by competition, mis- 
sionary funds, workers and interest; the other and para- 
mount end is, the establishment of efficient co-operation 
among evangelical denominations so as to meet the unmet 
spiritual needs of America." 

The difficulties in the home field are intensely real and 
practical, but substantial progress has been made in the 
way of preventing both overlapping and overlooking. 



The Magnitude of the Task 17 

In endorsing heartily the principle of comity, and honest- 
ly endeavoring to make effective these plans of co-operation, 
at the same time it must be recognized that there can be no 
arbitrary divisions of the unreached in the United States 
among Home Mission Boards. It is equally impossible 
to calculate the number of people that should be assigned 
to each denomination as its definite share of winning 
America. Such a suggestion, is the well-meant thought of 
the superficial and visionary, or else a disguised attack on 
the legitimate denominational zeal of each branch of the 
Church. No individual, it matters not what his reputation 
for piety, nor all the combined wisdom of the Home Mis- 
sions Council, can justify, much less authorize any limita- 
tion of individual or denominational responsibility. If 
there were only one unsaved man in the United States, he 
could not be divided or assigned to any body of Christian 
people as a definite responsibility. Only the "Judge of 
all the earth" can either assign or limit responsibility. In 
reaching the unsaved masses of America, each denomina- 
tion, while recognizing the co-operation and respecting the 
rights of all others, must undertake its task with as much 
zeal as if the whole unsaved masses rested upon its heart 
and shoulders. In no other way can it measure up to its 
definite responsibility as determined by the Master, rather 
than assumed by itself or assigned by some extraneous 
advisers, even though actuated by the noblest intentions. 

Presbyterian Obligation. 

Presbyterianism must meet its denominational share of 
the responsibility of winning our country for Christ, and its 
Christian obligation of ministering to human need. It 
must inquire of the Master himself the extent of obliga- 
tion, and not of Synods and Councils whose liability to err 
is confessed in their constitution. There is never any need, 
however, to limit responsibility. It is not even remotely 
probable that an individual or denomination will exceed 



18 The Task That Challenges 

its obligation, if measured by the cross of Christ and the 
expectation of the Master himself. Among the millions 
of the unsaved in the United States, there are perhaps 
25,000,000 to be taught in Sunday school and trained for 
Christ and the Church; 9,000,000 Negroes whose ethical 
standards must be elevated above mere emotional nominal 
Christianity; 3,000,000 mountaineers to be reached in 
their isolation, and relieved in their destitution; 15,000,000 
foreigners among us, and increasing at the rate of 1,000,000 
a year, to be assimilated and evangelized; and perhaps 
10,000,000 adults, uncounted in any of these classes, with- 
out God, without Christ and without hope, ' 'aliens from 
the Commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the 
covenants of promise." 



II. 

THE EQUIPMENT FOR THE TASK. 

Though the magnitude of the unfinished Home Mission 
Task looms large, it does not warrant the paralyzing sug- 
gestion of pessimism. If the eleven disciples — without 
learning, without influence, without power, without means, 
did not stagger at the great commission involving world- 
wide conquest, why should the Christian forces of America, 
backed by the strength of the mighty God of Jacob, yield 
to discouragement? Of all institutions, the Church of 
God should be the most optimistic. Its perpetuity and 
ultimate triumph are guaranteed by the promise of its 
divine Head, "The gates of hell shall not prevail against 
it." For its task of conquest, the Church can command 
unlimited resources. 

Material Resources. 

According to figures recently made public, the wealth 
of the United States has doubled during the past sixteen 
years. The nation's wealth, as announced by the Census 
Bureau, is now $188,000,000,000. About $94,000,000,000 
has been acquired since 1900. The following are given as 
some of the items of the national wealth: Real property 
and improvements, $110,000,000,000; railroads and equip- 
ment, $16,000,000,000; manufactured products, $15,000,- 
000,000; furniture, carriages and automobiles, $8,000,000,- 
000; live stock, $6,000,000,000; street railways, $4,000,000,- 
000; agricultural products, $5,000,000,000; clothing and 
personal adornments, $4,205,008,593. New York is the 
richest state, with over $25,000,000,000; Illinois and Penn- 
sylvania are close rivals for second place, each with $15,- 
500,000,000. The important fact in connection with these 
figures is that the wealth increase comes largely from the 



20 The Task That Challenges 

increase in the value of land. Land is now cheapest in 
the Southern States, and in the next ten or fifteen years, 
its increase in the South will be greatest. 

The national wealth is twice that of Great Britain, the 
richest nation of the globe, next to the United States. It 
is about equal to that of Great Britain, France and Ger- 
many, the three richest countries of the world. It is grow- 
ing at the rate of nearly ten billions each year; and within 
a few decades, at the present rate, will exceed that of the 
world combined. Surely, "He hath not dealt so with any 
nation." 

Agricultural Products. 

Recently the Secretary of Agriculture published the 
statistics of our farm interests, which are so enormous as 
to paralyze comprehension, reaching in round numbers 
$8,000,000,000 annually, being four times the value of the 
products of mines, including oil and precious metals. The 
gain each year over the previous in farm products averages 
$300,000,000. The greatest of all crops is corn, now ap- 
proaching $2,000,000,000 annually, which the Secretary 
says would cancel the interest-bearing debt of the United 
States, pay for the Panama Canal, and buy fifty battle- 
ships. Hay and cotton contend with each other for the 
second place, amounting to one billion each, according to 
the fluctuating price of the product. Sixty billion dollars 
of increased wealth from agriculture alone in one decade 
is a specimen of our accumulating riches. 

In "The Call of the World," by W. E. Doughty, occurs 
this striking comparison of figures: 

"The value of the farm products in the United States in 
1909, according to the report of the Department of Agri- 
culture, was $8,760,000,000. The farm products have con- 
siderably more than doubled in ten years, equaling in value 
eighteen times the world's output of gold. In comment- 
ing on these figures, a writer in the Literary Digest, gives 



The Equipment for the Task 21 

the following concrete illustration of what they mean: 
If the money were all in twenty-dollar gold pieces, it would 
make a pile 720 miles high, and if the gold pieces were laid 
on the earth touching one another, the value of the farm 
products of that one year would make a line of twenty- 
dollar gold pieces reaching across Alaska, Canada, the 
United States and Mexico to the Isthmus of Panama, and 
there w T ould then be enough of these coins left to make a 
line of gold from New York to San Francisco, and some 
pieces would fall off into the Pacific Ocean before they were 
all used." 

During the last decade of the Nineteenth Century we 
added in farms an area in extent nearly equal to that of 
France and Germany. Is it any wonder than a European 
tourist who sat one day in the National Capitol at Wash- 
ington listening to Congress voting, without debate, every 
few minutes during the day, appropriations by the millions 
for internal improvements, exclaimed: "My fathers! 
What a country!" 

Exports. 

The growth of our trade with trans-Atlantic nations is 
the marvel of the commercial world, and it is destined to 
grow by leaps and bounds as the result of the disastrous 
European war. For the twelve months ending September 
1, 1915, the exports of the United States amounted to 
$3,035,033,250, the balance of trade in our favor being 
more than $1,000,000,000. Imagination itself can scarce- 
ly compute the enormous increase this one item is destined 
to produce in our national wealth during the coming years. 

Natural and Strategic Advantages. 

W. E. Doughty, Educational Secretary of the Laymen's 
Missionary Movement, asserts: "The six great naval powers 
of the world, in the order of their strength, are Great 
Britain, Germany, the United States, France, Japan and 



22 The Task That Challenges 

Russia. The coast line of the United States exceeds the 
coast lines of any five of them added together. It is sure- 
ly significant that God has given America control of so 
much coast line on both oceans, and so many harbors for 
commerce and as distributing centers for the gospel. The 
most significant thing about our past is that we grew out of 
the best life of Europe and inherit the intellectual and moral 
fiber of the Anglo-Saxon." 

Economic Equipment. 

In "The Fortune of the Republic," Dr. Hillis grows elo- 
quent in describing the natural resources of our marvelous 
country: "Other people are proud of their country and its 
principal river. Englishmen are very proud of their 
lovely little Thames. The Italians are also proud of their 
little yellow Tiber, which could be dropped into the yellow 
Missouri without making a splash or raising the 'Big 
Muddy' a half-inch in flood tide. The Seine is a long 
stream, that is, measured by a Frenchman's yardstick. 
But we have a river named the Yukon, that would stretch 
from Hudson Bay on the north to New Orleans on the 
south. What treasures in this land as yet undeveloped! 
Four-fifths of all the fresh water on the globe are in our 
lake system. A country with a river and canal system in 
the Mississippi Valley running out to the right and the 
left, like the keel and the ribs of a ship, turning the whole 
interior into a system of canals and waterways for com- 
merce; wood enough to house the world; coal enough to 
warm the world ; iron enough to tool the world ; wheat 
enough to feed the world; cotton enough to clothe the 
world; gold and silver enough to finance the world." Of 
this great Valley of the Mississippi, Mr. Gladstone said: 
"It will be the home of many a Leeds and Manchester, 
many a Sheffield and Birmingham, and when some time 
has passed, will clothe, feed and supply the world." 

None of the great nations of Europe has harbors suf- 



The Equipment for the Task 23 

ficient for its business. Russia, the largest country in 
the world, is practically shut out of the commercial world 
by its isolation; and Germany, the most powerful single 
nation, is absolutely dependent upon the River Elbe and 
the Kiel Canal for an outlet to the sea, which well-nigh 
paralyzes its commerce. The United States has the most 
magnificent harbors in the world — looking east, west and 
south. The Encyclopedia Britannica says the Mississippi 
River and branches affords 35,000 miles of navigable 
waterway. All Europe has but half the mileage of this 
one river. No wonder Napoleon Bonaparte said, "The 
nation which controls the Mississippi Valley will be the 
most powerful nation on earth." The other combined 
navigable streams of the United States doubtless exceed 
the Mississippi in extent. 

The railroad mileage of the United States is seven times 
that of any other country on the globe; and the time is fast 
approaching, perhaps in the next decade, when it will 
possess one-half of the railroads of the earth. 

Undeveloped Resources. 

Only a passing reference can be made to mineral wealth 
practically untouched, and yet the United States furnishes 
the world two-thirds of its petroleum and copper, and 
three-fourths of its coal; while its gold mines are richer 
than any in the world, except those of South Africa. 

Statistics for the South. 

Turning our attention exclusively southward, is it any 
wonder that Richard H. Edmunds, Editor of the Manu- 
facturers' Record, Baltimore, Md., declared recently: 
"We must learn to think in billions rather than millions, 
if we would so broaden our mental horizon as to be able to 
see with some degree of clearness the possibilities of material 
development in the South." 



24 The Task That Challenges 

As justifying this statement, consider the significance 
of the following facts and figures of the South : 

Capital invested, manufacturing $3,397,000,000 

Annual product of the same. . . . 3 , 800 , 000 , 000 

Farm lands and buildings 8,971 ,000 ,000 

Annual cotton crop 1 , 000 , 000 , 000 

Annual grain crop '. 1 , 000 , 000 , 000 

Other farm products. . 1 , 000 , 000 , 000 

Lumber cut and sold 450,000,000 

Mine products 370,000,000 

Capital invested in fisheries 13,000,000 

Products of the same 20,000,000 

Total annual income. 7,300,000,000 

National bank capital 236,853,850 

Individual deposits 2,000,000,000 

The South' s Wealth. 

Dr. John M. Moore, in "The South To-day," furnishes 
this estimate of the increasing wealth of the South: 

"The South's wealth is not far from $50,000,000,000, 
while the wealth of the United States in 1880 was only 
$43,642,000,000. Between 1880 and 1912 the estimated 
true wealth of all property in the South increased from 
$9,177,000,000 to $43,473,000,000, or 378.8 per cent., the 
increase in the rest of the country being 317.6 per cent. 
The average wealth for each inhabitant increased in these 
thirty-two years from $493 to $1,264 in the South, and that 
in the entire country from $866 to $1,965. In the South, 
as in the rest of the country, the greatest increase in the 
value of property has taken place since 1900, but the rate 
of increase is proportionately greater in the South. In the 
twenty years between 1880 and 1900 the average rate of 
increase in the rest of the country was four times that in 
the South, but in the twelve years between 1900 and 1912 
the ratio was only three to one. The increase in the true 
value of all property in the South between 1900 and 1904 
was from $17,919,000,000 to $21,519,000,000, or at the 



The Equipment for the Task 25 

average rate of $2,466,000 a day. The increase between 
1904 and 1912 was from $21,519,000,000 to $43,473,000,000 
or at the average rate of $7,518,000 a day, an amount 
more than seven times the daily increase in England." 

A Striking Comparison. 

In "The Home Mission Task," the brilliant editor of the 
Manufacturers' Record furnishes these significant figures: 

"In 1860 the assessed value of property in the Southern 
States was greater by nearly $1,017,000,000 than the 
assessed value of property in the Middle and New England 
States combined. Between 1850 and 1860 the value of 
Southern property increased over $3,843,000,000 against 
an increase during the same period in New England and 
the Middle States of $2,460,000,000. Thus in that period 
the South showed a gain in wealth greater by $1,380,000,- 
000 than the united gain of the New England and the 
Middle States. In 1860, 45 per cent, of the assessed value 
of the property in the United States was in the South. 

"While the assessed value of the South's property ex- 
ceeded by $1,017,000,000 the assessed value of property 
in the New England and the Middle States in 1860, the 
change in the decade between 1860 and 1870 was so stu- 
pendous that in the latter year the assessed value of 
property in the New England and the Middle States ex- 
ceeded that of the South by $10,244,000,000. Much of 
this enormous advance in wealth in the North was due to 
the industrial era which was developing during that period, 
stimulated in part as it was by the war." 

Undeveloped Resources of the South. 

The increasing wealth of the South justifies the predic- 
tion, freely made on all sides, that it will, beyond all ques- 
tion, be the richest section of the United States, considering 
that its vast undeveloped resources as yet are practically 
untouched. President Woodrow Wilson voiced the con- 



26 The Task That Challenges 

sensus of opinion on this subject: "No one who knows 
the South can look forward to her future without the most 
confident expectation of an extraordinary development. 
The character of her people, of her resources, and of her 
climate assure a development which will be one of the most 
notable features of the growth of America in the Twentieth 
Century. The past thirty years will be but an imperfect 
indication of what the next thirty will bring forth." 

As evidence, a few illustrations will suffice: Great 
Britain, Germany, France and Austria combined have 
17,000 square miles of coal area; the South has 99,166 
square miles of coal, and 84,300 of lignite. If Europe had 
collected every ounce of gold produced in 1910, it would 
have lacked $122,700,000 of paying Europe's cotton bill 
to the South that year. In thirty years the cotton crops 
of the South have yielded in money value $15,000,000,000. 
All the gold and silver of the world mined in the same period 
yielded but $10,000,000,000. The South still furnishes 
three-fourths of the world's supply of cotton; and it is 
an asset which no other country can take away, as cotton 
requires certain peculiar conditions which exist nowhere 
else in the world. 

While there are 135,000,000 cotton spindles in the world, 
only 12,000,000 are in the South, and the latter consume 
only 3,000,000 bales of its cotton. The time must soon 
come when the South itself will require for its own mills 
the present crop, and it will necessitate perhaps 20,000,000 
bales to supply the world. 

Space forbids detail of statistics as to iron, phosphates 
and timber; and yet these alone, if the South possessed 
nothing else, would constitute an untold mine of wealth. 
The South has water power enough "to run every wheel 
that turns on rail or factory in America"; and it has 88,903 
miles of railroads alone. Ex pede Herculem. 

Prophecy must be evoked to forecast the future of the 
South when the Panama Canal is in full operation. More 



The Equipment for the Task 27 

than fifty years ago Commodore Maury, in a prophetic 
report on the Isthmian Canal, said: ''When the Pacific 
and Atlantic are united, in the Gulf of Mexico will center 
the commerce of the world." Permit but this suggestive 
hint: For five thousand miles the west coast of South Amer- 
ica is washed by the Pacific Ocean. That entire coast is in 
about the same condition that the Pacific coast of North 
America was in fifty years ago. What the trans-conti- 
nental railroads did for our Pacific coast, the Panama Canal 
will do for the South American coast. 

The public press announced recently that South America 
proposes to deliver beef in this country by way of the 
Panama Canal at 10c a pound. When the great cattle 
ranches of the West are converted into farms, possibly 
the western coast of South America will pour its supplies 
through the Panama Canal into Galveston, New Orleans 
and Mobile; and Texas, which has been supplying the 
United States and Europe, may yet get its meats from 
South America. The great nitrate beds of the world are 
in Chili, exactly what the farms of the South need; but 
distance hitherto has made it prohibitive. Hereafter the 
farmer will be able to secure it at our Gult ports; and this 
vast stream of commerce will pour through the arteries 
of the South. 

Wealth, a Means or an End. 

The object of this recital of the vast wealth of our 
favored country is to demonstrate that we have abundant 
material resources for the accomplishment of our Home 
Mission task of Christianizing America. Shall we conse- 
crate it as a means to this noble purpose? Or shall we 
selfishly squander it on ourselves, in the gratification of 
our luxurious tastes and pleasures? Will this vast wealth 
count for or against the Kingdom of Christ in the evan- 
gelization of the world at home and abroad? 

In a great battle for supremacy, the terrible guns frowned 



28 The Task That Challenges 

upon the approaching enemy, who, nothing daunted, 
rushed on till the position was captured, and their own guns 
were then turned against the fleeing men who had but late- 
ly manned them. 

If our vast wealth is not consecrated to the advance- 
ment of the Kingdom, it will react on us and demoralize 
and destroy both us and our posterity. The Carthagen- 
ians could not destroy Rome. Neither could the Goths 
and Vandals overthrow its liberties. Rome perished 
chiefly through the corrupting influences of its great wealth. 
The powerful Empire of Spain, which proudly boasted 
that the sun never set on its domains, perished not by its 
enemies, but through the enervating influences of its 
luxurious indulgences, made possible by riches. Will our 
people lose their virile character and sink in the scale of 
civilization through similar corrupting influences of our 
enormous wealth? 

Spiritual Forces. 

No material resources, however limitless, will avail un- 
less in co-operation with even more powerful spiritual 
forces. It is "not by might, nor by power, but by my 
Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts." Fortunately, the South 
possesses a rare combination of spiritual assets. No- 
where on earth has any people enjoyed more manifestly 
"the blessing of God which maketh rich." 

The genius of the Anglo-Saxon is the spirit of missionary 
propaganda. No section of earth to-day can compete 
with the South in the purity of its Anglo-Saxon heritage 
and blood, not even Great Britain itself. This is due 
largely to the fact that immigration, which has mingled 
a cosmopolitan strain in the blood of the North and West, 
has not yet turned southward in great numbers, is con- 
fined exclusively to our largest cities, and is halted by the 
barriers of our Appalachian Mountains. 

The South also occupies a unique place in the religious 



The Equipment for the Task 29 

life of the nation. It is the unassailable stronghold of 
Protestantism, as official figures abundantly demonstrate. 
The last religious census published by the United States 
shows that the largest percentage of church membership 
is in the South; South Carolina leading with 45 per cent, of 
its population in Protestant churches, while only one and 
one-half per cent, is Roman Catholic. Georgia is a close 
second with 42 per cent. Protestant; North Carolina has 
39 per cent.; Alabama, 38 per cent.; and Mississippi, 37 
per cent. In striking contrast, New Jersey has only 19 
per cent. Protestant and the same per cent. Roman Catho- 
lic. New York has 15 per cent. Protestant and double 
that per cent. Roman Catholic; Vermont, 18 per cent. 
Protestant; New Hampshire, 14 per cent., and Massachu- 
setts, 13 per cent. 

The presence of the Negro in the South may be regarded 
as an obstacle to progress in some directions, but he is by 
no means an unmitigated evil. Possibly he is a blessing 
in disguise, an obstacle to unlimited and promiscuous 
immigration, a safeguard to the purity of our Anglo-Saxon 
blood, and a protection against the aggression of Roman 
Catholic ecclesiasticism and political machinations. 

The South is waging apparently the only winning fight 
for prohibition; for while Maine, its home, is trembling 
in the balance, nearly all the Southern States are driving 
out liquor by legal enactment. In the South 99 per cent, 
of the people still believe in the Bible and are undisturbed 
by rationalism and the destructive criticism. They be- 
lieve as firmly in the Virgin birth and resurrection of Christ 
as historic events, as in the discovery of America or the 
Declaration of Independence. If the old-time religion 
holds sway anywhere on earth, it is in the South, where 
the Christian Sabbath is almost universally respected, and 
the family altar has not altogether fallen into decay. 



30 The Task That Challenges 

The Supreme Need. 

Not on the material, but on the spiritual should emphasis 
be laid. Bigness is not greatness. Political economists 
are striving to increase our national wealth. Statesmen 
are seeking to enlarge our "sphere of influence" in its 
international reach. Home Missions outlines for itself 
the task of creating a type of character which will eventu- 
ate in that "righteousness" which "exalteth a nation" — 
moral greatness and spiritual power. 

"This is a great country," said Bishop C. K. Nelson, 
"but its greatness consists not in its great population, 
highest mountains, richest valleys and largest rivers, but 
in the character and quality of its inhabitants. China is 
greater in the number of its people, India has higher moun- 
tains, and Egypt has richer plains." Emerson gave utter- 
ance to practically the same thought: "The true test of 
civilization is not the census, not the size of its cities, nor 
the crops; but the kind of men the country turns out." 
Perhaps it will not be over-emphasizing the importance 
of this contention to quote the same sentiment from Leroy 
Beaulieu: "The history of nations, like the history of indi- 
viduals, proves beyond peradventure that no economic 
strength, no material prosperity, is lasting unless it be 
sustained by real moral worth." 

The industrial awakening and material development of 
the South call for a corresponding spiritual awakening. 
How otherwise shall we contend with the spirit of com- 
mercialism threatening to engulf the whole country? 
Tides of population once rolling westward will soon be 
turned backward and sweep like an avalanche upon the 
South, attracted hither by this marvelous prosperity. It 
is the critical time with the South, the plastic age, when we 
are about to shape our destiny for all time. The South 
has stood the trial of adversity. Will she be able to stand 
the test of prosperity? Possibly we may be indulged 



The Equipment for the Task 31 

in this questionable boasting of our wealth and resources; 
but we profoundly realize our need of something far better 
than these earthly and material things. The asset we 
crave now, above all things else, is manhood, a people 
worthy of our noble heritage of the past, and equal to the 
great responsibilities of the future; and the gathering and 
training of such a people for Christ are the worthy aim and 
supreme purpose of Home Missions. 

"Not gold, but only man can make 

A people great and strong; 
Men who for truth and honor's sake 

Stand fast and suffer long. 
Brave men who work while others sleep, 

Who dare while others fly — 
They build a nation's pillars deep 

And lift them to the sky." 

The Assurance of Success. 

"All power in heaven and earth is given unto me," and 
"Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." 
"If God be for us, who can be against us." He can make 
"the stars in their courses fight" against the forces of evil. 
"He holdeth the wealth of the world in his hands." The 
gold and silver of earth are His, and "the cattle upon a 
thousand hills." Unlimited resources are at the command 
of our faith, bringing within the range of possibility any 
task, however gigantic. Let the difficulties magnify 
themselves a hundred fold; let the enemies of truth and 
righteousness combine against the Lord and His anointed ; 
let Satan rally his hosts in one gigantic campaign of evil; 
the issue is never in doubt for one moment. 

"Thrice blest is he to whom is given 
The instinct that can tell 
That God is on the field, when He 
Is most invisible. 

"For right is right, since God is God; 
And right the day must win; 
To doubt would be disloyalty, 
To falter would be sin!" 



III. 

THE SCOPE OF HOME MISSIONS. 

The history of the Church is a history of Missions. 
The ratio of its progress is measured by the degree of its 
activity. The decline of the missionary spirit manifests 
itself in stagnation and marks the beginning of a retro- 
grade movement. 

The missionary spirit and aim are essentially one, whether 
manifested in ministering to human need "at our own door" 
or whether reaching in its labor of love "unto the utter- 
most part of the earth." The difference is chiefly one of 
geography and of administration. There is no essential 
difference in the work. The need of a lost soul is the same 
anywhere on the globe ; but there may be a great difference 
in privileges and opportunities by reason of differing en- 
vironments. 

Various Agencies. 

In the organization of the Home Mission Work of the 
Church there are different agencies, and a corresponding 
division of responsibility. It is important, therefore, 
that the sphere of each should be defined and clearly ap- 
prehended. 

The local church ministers to the peculiar need of its 
own community by establishing and conducting one or 
more missions within its bounds or in contiguous territory. 
This is distinctively Congregational Home Missions. The 
Presbytery, which is composed of a number of churches 
within a certain prescribed territory, ordinarily through 
its own Home Mission Committee, seeks to meet the re- 
ligious destitution in its bounds by establishing new sta- 
tions or organizing new churches, and such work is known 
as Presbyterial Home Missions. The Synod, which usually 



The Scope of Home Missions S3 

comprises the Presbyteries in a particular state, some- 
times inaugurates an evangelistic work by securing the 
voluntary co-operation of its Presbyteries for mutual 
assistance, though not all of the Synods are engaged in such 
organized work; but when undertaken it is designated 
Synodical Home Missions. 

The Executive Committee of Home Missions (Incor- 
porated) is the authorized agency of the General Assembly 
and represents the larger united work of every Synod, 
every Presbytery, and every congregation. Its special 
mission is to the dependent classes and newer sections of 
our country, a work which cannot be fully accomplished 
by any Presbytery or Synod, acting alone and separately, 
but which requires the co-operation of all the constituent 
parts of the General Assembly. The Executive Committee 
is, therefore, the channel through which the strength of the 
whole Church comes to the aid of those Presbyteries or 
sections which are unable to meet their own need. 

Distinctive Mission. 

The Assembly's Home Missions is distinctive, there- 
fore, in that it is the whole Church at work, bringing all the 
Presbyteries into a spirit of unity and harmony through 
the fellowship of a common service. It is the connecting 
link between the various branches of Local Home Missions 
on the one hand, and of Foreign Missions on the other. 
It partakes partly of the character of Local Home Missions, 
in that it assists the weaker Presbyteries in their inability 
to meet their own destitutions; and it as truly partakes 
of the character of Foreign Missions in its ministrations 
to the foreigners coming to us in ever-increasing multi- 
tudes, thus carrying on real Foreign Missions at home. 

Assembly's Home Missions exists for a threefold pur- 
pose: 



34 The Task That Challenges 

1. Church Extension. 

Just as Foreign Missions stands for the vast heathen 
world, and as Presbyterial Home Missions stands for each 
individual section with its peculiar needs; so the General 
Assembly's Work stands for the regions beyond our or- 
ganized bounds. Its first object being the extension of 
the Church at home, and its purpose the expansion of 
bounds, principles and influence, it is therefore the only 
provision for advancing into new territory, fulfilling the 
scriptural command, "lengthen thy cords"; and were it 
not for Assembly's Home Missions, there would be no ag- 
gressive method of occupying our whole country for Christ. 

2. Unity of the Church. 

It stands for the essential unity of the Church, enforcing 
the obligations of the strong to extend helping hands to 
the weak; "and whether one member suffer, all the mem- 
bers suffer with it." If every section were equally strong, 
there would be no occasion or opportunity for an appeal of 
the weaker to the sympathy and support of the strong. 
As a matter of fact, the strength of the Church is very 
unequally divided in the various Presbyteries and Synods. 
The bond of brotherhood, therefore, requires that the hand 
of sympathy be extended to the needy, and that arms of 
support be thrown around the weak. 

j. Human Need. 

Assembly's Home Missions stands for spiritual need in its 
most wretched form and in its largest demands. It 
responds to the mute appeal of the Macedonian cry from 
the submerged tenth in our overcrowded cities, the stranded 
and lost in our darkest mountain roves, the dependent 
and often despised Negro, the ignorant immigrants, 
"strangers within our gates," and the multitudes on the 
frontier, "scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd." 



The Scope of Home Missions 35 

Home Missions as a World Factor. 

In its ever-widening scope, it cannot confine itself to 
any Presbytery, Synod or Country. The Western Sec- 
tion of the Presbyterian Alliance in 1916 adopted the fol- 
lowing as part of its Home Mission report: "It is becoming 
more apparent every year that America cannot fulfil its 
fore-ordained mission among the nations of the world, un- 
less the evangelization of our country shall be carried for- 
ward more rapidly and sanely, and on a wider and a wiser 
plan than has marked its history hitherto. For a great 
nation to fail to fulfil its divinely appointed mission, 
and when confronted by such unprecedented opportuni- 
ties as are opening before the Church, would be a calamity 
beyond calculation." In its immediate and direct pur- 
pose, Home Missions sets for itself the task of winning the 
nation for Christ; but in its ultimate end it is neither pro- 
vincial in its aim nor circumscribed in sweep. It answers 
to a two-fold fulfilment of the great commission; first, in 
regarding our own country as a fundamental part of "the 
world" to be evangelized; and, second, in recognizing a 
Christianized America as an essential means of reaching 
with the gospel the other peoples of the world. In the 
fulfilment of its comprehensive task it co-operates with 
other denominations in making "our country God's coun- 
try," and equally with Foreign Mission agencies in trying 
to save the whole world. 

Home Missions — A Flying Goal. 

At a meeting of the Permanent Committee of Syste- 
matic Beneficence, as the Secretary of Home Missions was 
reading his report, suddenly Dr. Robert E. Vinson inter- 
rupted with the question: "Dr. Morris, is your Home Mis- 
sion Committee able to accomplish its task?" Instantly 
the reply was returned: "Home Missions is a flying goal." 
Every task accomplished and every ideal attained are but 



36 The Task That Challenges 

"stepping stones to higher things." The goal reached to- 
day was a laudable aim last year, or even yesterday, but 
the moment the goal is within sight, it lifts itself higher and 
leads on to a nobler pursuit. 

The application of this principle is as true in the sphere 
of Home Missions as elsewhere. The revolving years 
mean more to-day than ever before in the world's history. 
The critical rush of events, the increasing speed of travel, 
the improved facilities for knowing the facts at the very 
moment achievement is crystalizing into history, the 
efficient means of seizing opportunities, the enlargement of 
spheres of service for ministering to need, these present 
new situations, new problems and new liabilities increasing 
constantly in geometrical progression. Only ten years 
ago the Church had but a contracted vision and a narrow 
horizon of its opportunities and obligations. The vision 
of need and the corresponding growth of the work have so 
expanded the horizon of Home Mission possibilities as to 
demonstrate that they are practically limitless. 

It becomes exceedingly difficult, yet supremely import- 
ant, to impress the Church with the character and magni- 
tude of the work now conducted by the Executive Com- 
mittee. In its scope it covers departments embraced by 
five separate boards in some other denominations, such as 
the Board of Home Missions, the Board of Church Erec- 
tion, the Freedmen's Board, Evangelism, and the Woman's 
Board in its large support of Mountain Missions. 

All Causes in One. 

In its broad sphere of service, its operations partake of 
the character of all the executive agencies of our own 
Church. In its ministry to the increasing number of 
foreigners in our great cities and mining communities, it 
does as purely a foreign mission work as can be carried 
on in any heathen country. In the conduct of its mission 
schools for mountaineers, it contributes its share to the 



The Scope of Home Missions 37 

Christian education of our youth, and is recruiting in these 
schools the ranks of the ministry. 

In the organization of new churches which call for more 
Sabbath schools, it is conducting a work of Sabbath School 
Extension. It has its Theological Seminary for colored 
ministers and its orphanage for mountain children. 

This by no means implies that there is in any sense an 
overlapping of work, but the multiform activities of the 
Assembly's Home Missions grow out of the necessities of 
the case. Work for the foreigners among us can be under- 
taken only by the Executive Committee of Home Missions; 
and our Mission Schools are a necessary adjunct to our 
evangelistic task. 

Historic Development. 

In expounding the scope of the work, it becomes neces- 
sary to give a history of its development, now enlarged to 
such proportions as to necessitate eight departments, and 
we shall consider them in their logical as well as natural 
order of time. 

i. The Department of the Frontier. 

At the beginning of this Twentieth Century the chief 
and almost the sole task of Home Missions was pioneer 
work — following the trail of our people in their western 
migrations, as the frontier expanded to accommodate these 
movements. Now, however, the frontier is a relative 
term. From the Atlantic coast it gradually stretched it- 
self in an ever-widening area, far out towards the Pacific. 
It is difficult to think of it at present except as beyond the 
Mississippi. The economic development of the country 
in the older settlements, by railroads and by modern 
methods, have created frontier conditions in developing 
new towns and leaving other sections partially depleted of 
people and somewhat destitute. 

Still, however, the frontier and the West must long re- 



38 The Task That Challenges 

main synonymous terms by reason of the large factor of 
the equation, in which the West more than balances all 
other pioneer possibilities. Just as long as statistics indi- 
cate that one million new inhabitants cross the Mississippi 
annually and pour themselves into the Southwest, so long 
must the Church follow r her sons and daughters to their 
new home, as she cannot afford, for her own sake nor for 
their sake, to allow her migrating children to drift beyond 
her reach and care. 

The Western Frontier. 

Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas, according 
to an estimate based on the last census, contain over 10,- 
000,000 people, which is more than one-fourth of the entire 
population of the South. Leaving out of calculation the 
colored people, these four states contain nearly one-half 
of the white population of the South. Their combined 
area amounts to 458,510 square miles, and if as densely 
populated as Rhode Island would contain 233,840,000; or 
even if as densely populated as the average of the entire 
country, would contain 14,000,000. 

They constitute a great opening for the expansion of the 
Church, and will remain for some time, from the standpoint 
of dividends, the best field for the investment of Home 
Mission funds. Other sections may be as needy, but the 
West makes the two-fold appeal of need and of oppor- 
tunity. Within this area the Presbyterian Church, U. S., 
has a membership of 60,000, which about equaled the 
Synod of Virginia, the largest in the Church, before it 
gave of its membership for the new Synod of West Virginia. 
If the membership in these four states were equally dis- 
tributed, there would be only one Presbyterian to each 
eight square miles. Counting the membership of other 
Presbyterian bodies in this same territory as almost equal 
to ours, the fact remains that its destitution is a powerful 
Macedonian cry for help. 



The Scope of Home Missions 39 

There is often advantage in Disadvantage; and the 
opportunities challenging the Church render the efforts 
and expenditures of Home Missions the most fruitful in 
results. The money expended on this department aver- 
ages scarcely a dollar for each communicant in that sec- 
tion, and yet the Church is growing faster there than any- 
where else within our bounds. From the place of the 
weakest Synod in the Church, Texas now contends with 
Virginia for the second place in point of numbers, and with- 
in a few years will doubtless pass North Carolina, at 
present the largest Synod. Within the past decade 
Mangum Presbytery, Oklahoma, has grown from un- 
occupied territory to an aggressive organization of twelve 
ministers, twenty-four churches, and 1,300 communicants. 

In this western section there is at work a missionary 
force of 110 laborers, occupying 400 churches and mission 
stations, costing annually $50,000, 25 per cent, of the in- 
come furnished by the Church for maintaining Assembly's 
Home Missions. The men and means are utterly inade- 
quate to the need or to the opportunity. Danger lurks 
in these growing centers of population. If not speedily 
evangelized, they will constitute a menace to the whole 
country. If we lose the West, we lose the United States. 
The issue at stake is tremendous. If the West fills up 
until it has no more unoccupied lands, what will be the con- 
sequence if it should roll back upon us a tide of ungodly 
people ! 

The New Frontier. 

The Department of The Frontier is to-day not altogether 
a matter of geography, but represents certain conditions 
and environments — whether in Florida or Texas, whether 
in Georgia or Oklahoma, whether in West Virginia or 
Arkansas. The changing character of the country, like 
a kaleidoscope, reveals new combinations and scenes which 



40 The Task That Challenges 

so fill the horizon of the Church's vision as somewhat to 
divert attention from the West. 

West Virginia may be used as a specimen of the New 
Frontier, attracting attention in the East. This state, 
according to Dr. D. P. McGeachy, "presents the unusual 
combination of the needs of the isolated community, and 
the opportunities of the manufacturing section. The 
eritire state is mountainous and almost all of it is rich in 
mineral deposits and hardwood forests. Owing to its 
location and its nature, West Virginia reproduces with in- 
finite variety the same conditions that are seen in 'Pitts- 
burgh the Polluted,' and in 'Breathitt the Bloody.' Her 
problems run easily from those of commercialism gone mad 
to those of secluded stagnation. The oldest and the newest 
are mingled — the North and the South have coalesced — 
the mountaineer and the staring immigrant have collided. 

"The percentage of colored people is almost negligible 
and there are no Indians, yet 72 per cent, of the popula- 
tion is out of any church. One county reports 97 per 
cent, out of the church, and it is claimed that nearly 80 
per cent, of the people in one of the Presbyteries are un- 
reached. The density of population is very great — over 
fifty-six people per square mile — and of this number over 
forty persons for every square mile in the State are members 
of no church at all. It may be a startling statement, but 
it is one vouched for by the National Geographic Society, 
that there are over three times as many unsaved people 
per square mile in West Virginia as there are in Africa, 
and over five times as many as there are per square mile 
in South America. 

"The population is increasing very rapidly. Nearly 
fourteen are being added to each square mile of West Vir- 
ginia territory each ten years, a number not equaled by any 
state now occupied by our Church. It is encouraging to 
note that while the average Protestant church in West 
Virginia has increased 9 per cent, in membership in ten 



The Scope of Home Missions 41 

years, the Southern Presbyterian Church has increased 
41 per cent, in the same time. The average minister in 
this Synod reached twenty-one souls last year, and the 
Sunday-school records go to show that the field of interested 
but unreached people is absolutely unparalleled. It is 
little wonder that under conditions like these West Vir- 
ginia should report so few unfruitful churches. 

"A little visit from a faithful Bible teacher a year or so 
ago led in one case to an inquiry for a minister who might 
preach in a lumber camp. Two months ago a church was 
organized in that lumber camp, and to-day over twenty 
men are found in that congregation who take public part 
in the mid-week prayer meeting. A church organized 
less than a year ago in a thriving village has now nearly 
one hundred members and is striving faithfully to build. 
Only one other church is found in this settlement of 1,500 
people. No accurate count has as yet been completed of 
the number of places throughout the state with from three 
to five hundred population that have no religious service 
at all. Scores of little towns are springing up that can be 
reached only by rail — hidden away in the mountains and 
absolutely without religious privilege. Were men and 
means at hand, a dozen workers could be placed to-day in 
fields that are white indeed unto the harvest. This is the 
day of our Church in W 7 est Virginia, and we will be wise if 
we enter while we are called." 

2. The Department of Foreign-Speaking People. 

During the Nineteenth Century the church awoke from 
her indifference, and with girded loins began anew her un- 
finished task of sending the gospel to the heathen; and, 
during this Twentieth Century, God in His providence is 
sending foreigners in ever-increasing numbers to our own 
door. This is imparting a new significance to the Great 
Commission. Beyond the seas we must evangelize the 
heathen for their own sake and for Christ's sake; but in 



42 The Task That Challenges 

America we have the added incentive to evangelize these 
strangers within our gates for our own sake and for our 
children's sake, or else they will paganize our country. 
The fact that 250,000 people annually return whence 
they came furnishes a renewed motive for reaching them 
with the gospel, in order that they may become missionaries 
of the cross for the evangelization of the world. 

The foreign-born population of the United States is 
15,000,000, one in every seven, approximately equaling 
the combined population of Norway, Sweden, Denmark 
and Switzerland. Adding the children of these foreigners, 
though born in America, the two combined will compose 
one-third of our population, or nearly as many people as 
are contained in the entire South. Notwithstanding the 
contribution of 1,000,000 new inhabitants to our country 
by the other nations of the earth, it was not until within 
recent years that this incoming tide turned Southward. 
A new situation now confronts the Southern Presbyterian 
Church. The demand for the enlargement of our opera- 
tions, by adding a new department for these foreign- 
speaking people, was sudden, but the Executive Com- 
mittee immediately adjusted itself to the situation; and 
missions sprang up almost spontaneously in the various 
Synods. 

The first in point of time, and the most prosperous, is 
the Texas- Mexican Mission among the 500,000 Mexicans 
in Texas. From an humble origin, it has grown into a 
vigorous Presbytery, which is co-extensive with the state 
of Texas, and has already a communicant roll of 1,200 
and property valued at $50,000. 

The following table gives a summary of our operations 
in this department: 



The Scope of Home Missions 43 

MISSIONS AND CHURCHES AMONG FOREIGNERS 























tn 


c 








S3 S 


v 


v 


>> 


o 










°'S 






13 


a 


■ 1 

« 2 
x 35 




on 






a 

"^ Si 


o 




.2 




£ 


o3 <- 

cS 
72 


to 

'o, 

3 


O 


2 * 


c 

03 
60 

CD 

pq 


Mexican. . . 


17 


24 


1306 


21 


1284 


$ 50,000 


$ 7,000 


1892 


French .... 


4 


11 


380 


10 


565 


3,000 


2,000 




Hungarian . 


4 


12 


326 


3 


100 


3,000 


2,800 


1909 


Italian .... 


16 


9 


275 


9 


350 


22,500 


7,200 


1908 


Cuban. . . . 


2 


1 


20 


2 


225 


2,000 


2,000 


1908 


Syrian 


2 


2 




2 


80 




600 




Chinese. . . 


1 


1 




1 


30 








Russian. . . 


1 


1 


23 












Bohemian . 


1 


3 


70 


2 


50 


1,000 


1,000 


1910 


Indians. . . . 


32 


21 


500 


13 


766 


20,000 


4,000 


1861 




80 


85 


2900 


63 


3450 


$101,500 


$26,600 





j. Department of Mountain Work. 

The Appalachian Range, running southwest from Penn- 
sylvania to Alabama, covering a section 500 by 300 miles, 
cuts through the heart of the territory of our Church east 
of the Mississippi, dividing it into almost equal parts. 
Leaving out the cities and larger towns, there remain about 
3,000,000 distinctively mountain people, more or less 
destitute of gospel privileges. Descendants of the Scotch- 
Irish Covenanters, long neglected by the Presbyterian 
Church, it would seem that they are in a peculiar sense our 
responsibility. 

For destitution, perhaps our country furnishes no parallel 
equal to this great Appalachian section. It is a problem 
of isolation. There is destitution in the slums of the 
cities, but they are still in reach of gospel privileges, and 



44 The Task That Challenges 

multitudes of them have heard the message and rejected 
the light. In great sections of the mountains, many have 
heard only a caricature of the gcspel; and some are so un- 
fortunate as to have grown to manhood even without 
having heard a gospel sermon. 

Notwithstanding the fact that feeble efforts at ' 'sundry 
times and in divers manners" had been put forth by the 
various Presbyteries to minister to this destitution, it was 
Dr. Edward O. Guerrant who really discovered the moun- 
taineers, and laid the foundation for permanent and syste- 
matic work in their behalf. Unaided for a dozen years, he 
had carried lovingly the burden which required for its 
support about $14,000 a year. In 1911, bringing his 
missions and fifty missionaries, he committed them to the 
Presbyterian Church as a sacred trust, which was willingly 
accepted, and is now being faithfully executed. The 
work, however, has grown to such large proportions as to 
require now nearly $50,000 annually for its needs. With- 
out his wise counsel, sympathetic support and tireless toil 
when this responsibility was first assumed, the Executive 
Committee would have been utterly unable to handle the 
problem. 

To unify the appeal and magnify the work, it became 
necessary to organize this mountain section into a separate 
Synod. To Dr. Homer McMillan belongs the credit of 
this suggestion, which was duly recognized by the General 
Assembly in appointing him to bear its greetings to the 
new Synod of Appalachia. 

Without a dissenting voice and with marked enthusiasm, 
the General Assembly at Newport News, Va., in May, 
1915, created the Synod of Appalachia out of Presbyteries 
and parts of Presbyteries belonging to the four Synods of 
Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky. 
The Synod met and completed its organization November 
2, 4915, in the First Presbyterian Church, Bristol, Tenn., 
there being 102 representatives present at its first session. 



The Scope of Home Missions 45 

No Synod ever began its career with greater enthusiasm 
and brighter prospects. Rev. J. W. Tyler, D. D., was 
elected Superintendent of Home Missions, and Rev. 
Frank D. Hunt, Synodical Evangelist. 

In reaching with the gospel the most destitute sections 
of our country, in furnishing Christian education to thou- 
sands of young people who could never in any other way get 
a chance to rise above their environment, in recruiting the 
ranks of our depleted ministry, and in laying foundations 
for the future of our Church among a virile race of people, 
there is nothing that can in the slightest approach the 
magnificent work being done in our Mountain Missions. 

In addition to schools and dormitories, there are two 
hospitals with resident physicians and trained nurses for 
these mountain people, one at Guerrant, Ky., in connec- 
tion with Highland College, and the other at Banner Elk, 
N. C, in connection with Lees McRae Institute. These 
physicians serve in the spirit of the Master, who carried 
in one hand healing for the body and in the other healing 
for the soul. 

4. Department of Colored Work. 

Of the ten millions of colored people in the United States, 
at least nine million live within the territory embraced in 
our Assembly. While our Church has always expressed 
a sympathetic interest in the welfare of these dependent 
people, we are compelled to admit that our profession of 
interest is discounted by its meagre expression in prac- 
tical effort. As the work, carried on for nearly twenty 
years under an Executive Committee of Colored Evan- 
gelization, failed to secure the substantial support of the 
Church, and in order to unify the Home Mission appeal, 
it was in 1911 transferred to the jurisdiction of the Execu- 
tive Committee and made a special department of Home 
Missions. The only advantage, so far, has been a some- 



46 The Task That Challenges 

what larger appropriation for the cause and a better recog- 
nition of its claims. 

The colored churches grow but slowly, and at some points 
the work is rather discouraging, but an investigation re- 
cently made shows an increase of 6 per cent, on profession 
of faith, which is equal to the total gross average of the 
whole Church. During one year 235 have been received 
into our colored churches. The total enrollment of colored 
membership in our 70 churches is about 2,700. 

Stillman Institute at Tuscaloosa, Ala., for training a 
colored ministry is our most far-reaching work, as its 
benefits are not confined to our own denomination, a 
majority always of its students being Methodists 
and Baptists. It has had a successful year, enjoying the 
ministrations of the Superintendent and two other pro- 
fessors. The number of candidates for the ministry is 
on the increase, which is an encouraging feature. The 
students contribute to their own support by working so 
many hours a week on the farm. 

At the close of the term in June, during commence- 
ment week, a conference of all colored ministers is held, 
the expenses of the ministers themselves and the lecturers 
being borne by the Executive Committee. Such gratifica- 
tion was expressed by the men and so many requests were 
made for a repetition, that this conference becomes now 
a permanent feature. 

The work under Rev. John Little and Rev. Wm. H. 
Sheppard at Louisville, Ky., with institutional features, 
continues to prosper. A number have been added to the 
church; and the Sabbath schools, taught by white teachers, 
have reached the largest enrollment in the history of the 
Mission, with total of 1,321 attending its clubs, classes and 
services and 87 teachers. Playgrounds have been oper- 
ated for the children; the girls are taught domestic science, 
and the boys trained in useful arts for becoming skilled 
workmen. 



The Scope of Home Missions 47 

Similar work on a smaller scale at Richmond, Va., has 
been supported by the Executive Committee, under the 
care of Rev. Murray Gray, while local and voluntary work 
has been conducted at Atlanta, Ga.; at Jacksonville, Fla.; 
and at Tuscaloosa, Ala., Oxford, Miss., Ruston, La., 
Memphis, Tenn., Decatur, Ga., etc. 

A forward step was taken by the Committee in appoint- 
ing Rev. W. A. Young evangelist for colored people. He 
has devoted now two years to this important office, and we 
believe he has shown himself well qualified for the place, 
which is one of great opportunity for serving his people. 

The General Assembly of 1916 in session at Orlando, 
Fla., organized these colored ministers and churches into 
a Colored Synod, composed of four Presbyteries, 33 min- 
isters, 70 churches, and 2,700 communicants. In Presby- 
tery and Synod they are left exclusively to themselves for 
the development of their corporate life and character, un- 
trammeled by extraneous influences, but they will be repre- 
sented in the General Assembly on the same basis as any 
other Presbytery, and they will be a constituent part of 
the Presbyterian Church, U. S. Their ministers and 
churches will receive the same financial assistance from 
the Executive Committee of Home Missions as any other 
needy and dependent classes. 

5. Department of Evangelism. 

The evangelistic purpose necessarily pervades all de- 
partments of our work, but second to nothing in import- 
ance is our specific Evangelistic Campaign. It is co- 
extensive with our territory, and cannot end until the very 
last man is reached. For some years the Executive Com- 
mittee has consistently engaged in an effort to arouse the 
spirit of evangelism throughout the entire Church, urging 
Presbyteries to insist upon at least one evangelistic 
meeting each year in every church. 

Rev. J. E. Thacker, D. D., was secured for General 



48 The Task That Challenges 

Evangelist, and for seven years his evangelistic meetings 
have resulted not simply in large accessions to the Church, 
but in kindling the spirit of soul-winning throughout the 
Church. The last Assembly with a rising vote recognized 
the value of his work, and expressed its appreciation of his 
services in arousing the spirit of evangelism in the Church. 

Rev. Geo. W. Crabtree was elected Prison Evangelist, 
and for three years has visited prisons and convict camps 
throughout the bounds of the Church, carrying the Gospel 
message to thousands of these unfortunate and criminal 
classes. Dozens have made profession of faith, and we 
trust many have been led to Christ and have entered upon 
a new life. Possessed of a sympathetic nature and a love 
of souls, he is specially equipped for his work; and yet 
what is one man able to accomplish among the 25,000 
prisoners who fill our jails and penitentiaries! 

For several years the Executive Committee has invited 
men of evangelistic gifts and spirit to volunteer for special 
meetings; and the Secretaries of Home Missions have kept 
a list of such in the office, and acted as intermediary in 
bringing these volunteers to the attention of pastors and 
churches desiring their services for evangelistic meetings. 
As a specimen, the recent report of Rev. J. A. Bryan, one 
of the number, indicates that he held in twelve months 
20 meetings, and received 289 into the church on profession 
of faith and 68 by letter. 

As the outcome of this Evangelistic Campaign, the Gen- 
eral Assembly of 1914 authorized the election of a Superin- 
tendent of Evangelism, and Rev. W. H. Miley, D. D., was 
called to this office, and November 1, 1914, entered vigor- 
ously upon his labors. His work consists in fostering the 
evangelistic spirit by correspondence with committees 
and individuals, the use of the church papers, sending out 
literature, presenting the work before conferences, church 
courts, congregations and individuals, and holding such 
services as time will permit. He has thus followed the 



The Scope of Home Missions 49 

policy outlined by the Executive Committee, and has en- 
deavored to put into effect the program adopted by the 
Assembly of 1915 for carrying out this policy. 

The number of Presbyteries having a definite evangelistic 
plan has increased from 21 per cent, to 42 per cent. The 
number of churches not reporting additions has in two years 
been reduced 23 per cent. The number of additions on 
profession of faith has increased from 16,149 in 1914 to 
21,804 in 1916, or 35 per cent. 

The following objectives suggested by Dr. Miley have 
been adopted by the Assembly: 

1. An efficient evangelistic committee and an evan- 
gelist in every Presbytery and Synod. 

2. A definite aggressive evangelistic program for every 
Synod, every Presbytery and every church. 

3. Every pastor his own evangelist, a personal worker, 
a volunteer evangelist. 

4. Every Christian a zealous winner of souls. 

6. Department of Sustentation. 

In the widest signification of the term, the Executive 
Committee is engaged in sustentation work within 40 of 
our 85 Presbyteries, not including the assistance given to 
colored ministers and churches where they belong to white 
Presbyteries. If individual assistance to colored min- 
isters in white Presbyteries, and aid extended to particular 
churches in the erection of their houses of worship should 
be taken into account, then the work of sustentation by the 
Executive Committee extends to more than half the Pres- 
byteries, and to every Synod in the Assembly. 

In the strict sense of the word, sustentation includes 
financial support by the Executive Committee in supple- 
menting salaries of pastors in charge of weak churches or 
groups, during the period of their struggle to self-support. 
Even then, in most instances, every dollar so given is made 



50 The Task That Challenges 

to do double duty. At the same time it sustains the weak 
and growing church, it also constitutes a base of opera- 
tions reaching out in an evangelistic effort to carry still 
further the gospel message to other communities destitute 
of the means of grace. 

Every dollar spent in evangelistic effort perhaps requires 
at least ten, often much more, to maintain and make it 
effective, unless beginnings are to remain fruitless and 
foundations worse than useless. In the business world 
no thoughtful builder lays foundations only to let material 
and effort go to waste. "For which of you intending to 
build a tower, sitteth not down first and counteth the cost, 
whether he hath sufficient to finish it," etc. As great an 
Apostle as Paul "may plant," but his w r ork will be in vain 
unless some Apollos shall "water." "I have laid the 
foundation and another buildeth thereon." It were better 
not to organize than withdraw assistance a moment short 
of self-support. It is the last link in the cable that con- 
nects two continents, and but for that last link, the ten 
thousand or more preceding it are useless. 

Sustentation may not be so spectacular, nor so visible 
in results, as the telling work of the evangelist, yet the men 
who plod quietly week after week are forging the essential 
links in the extension of the Kingdom. If superstructures 
had crowned all the foundations our Church has laid in the 
past, we would doubtless not only be the strongest denomi- 
nation in the United States, but the Kingdom would be 
visibly nearer than it now seems. Evangelistic and 
Sustentation Departments not only supplement each other 
and overlap, but in one sense are inseparable. Like the 
seamless robe of the Master, they are interwoven through- 
out as one complete indivisible whole. 

As the parent nurtures and supports his offspring till 
the child is able to care for itself, so the Church must main- 
tain each new and feeble organization until it in turn be- 
comes a center for propagating our faith into still more 



The Scope of Home Missions 51 

remote territory of the regions beyond. There are weak 
Presbyteries as well as weak churches; and the Executive 
Committee, like a fostering parent, places its arms of sup- 
port around such as make appeal for sustenation funds. 

Frequently parents who nurture children grow feeble 
themselves by reason of age and infirmity, and become a 
loving charge, needing the support of the child, now in the 
vigor and strength of manhood. So there are noble 
churches which have given their life and strength to others 
and must, like age leaning on a staff, receive the support of 
the children to whom they have given birth. Especially 
is this true of the country church and the deserted village. 
If we pension the aged minister for past services, why 
should not we recognize our obligations to the aged and 
feeble churches, which have exhausted their strength in 
the Master's service. The whole Church should recognize 
the need, and contribute liberally to these two classes: 
the young church growing to manhood, and the aged 
church whose resources and strength are well-nigh ex- 
hausted. 

The greatest loss sustained by the Presbyterian Church 
has been through its inability to support its weak and 
struggling churches in the critical period of their existence. 
In some instances, through lack of sustentation, they lan- 
guish or die; and years afterward, when a new opportunity 
comes to such places, the work must be done over again on 
new foundations at much greater cost, and valuable ma- 
terial is irretrievably lost. If Presbyterianism could re- 
cover such lost material and its natural increase, it would 
be doubtless by far the strongest denomination in this 
country. 

7. Department of Church Erection. 

The erection of a house of worship is the first problem, 
ordinarily, which the pastor who is installed in a Home 
Mission field faces. The most tragic failures in the past 



52 The Task That Challenges 

have been precipitated by inability to secure a church home. 
In many instances a small donation from the Executive 
Committee, at the critical moment in the history of the 
church, has been the turning point in the tide of its affairs 
which led on to success. In other cases, the lack of an 
adequate loan to build a house of worship in keeping with 
its environments, dwarfed the growth of a church and kept 
it indefinitely on the list of dependent churches through 
needless years. The donation is for the feeble church; 
the loan is for the stronger church which has a prospect. 

The man who stands out pre-eminently wiser than his 
generation, and who had sufficient grace of liberality and 
faith in his vision to make the venture, was W. A. Moore, 
of Atlanta, who twenty-three years ago left a legacy of 
$5,000 to assist feeble churches in building, by means of 
a loan. As the result of his work, this fund has built 
eighty churches, and yet increased to $6,000. 

This suggested the advisability of accumulating a simi- 
lar fund to assist feeble churches in securing manses for 
their ministers. An appeal was made to a few friends, 
which secured $4,200 for the purpose. In the past ten 
years it has erected thirty manses and increased to $5,000. 
Generations yet unborn will doubtless be blessed through 
the instrumentality of this beneficence. 

The large benefits resulting from such small capital 
suggested the advisability of a more adequate fund for 
enlarged operations. Every prominent denomination co- 
operating with us in evangelizing our territory has splen- 
did endowments for building churches. This led Mont- 
gomery Presbytery, five years ago, to overture the General 
Assembly to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of 
the separate existence of our Church by raising a sum of 
$100,000 for this purpose. The responsibility of securing 
this amount was entrusted to the Executive Committee 
and a vigorous campaign was undertaken, which, however, 
has been interrupted by various hindrances. While not 



The Scope of Home Missions 53 

making sensational strides, yet substantial and steady pro- 
gress is the result. We have accumulated in cash about 
$20,000, most of which has already been loaned to churches. 
It has been our privilege to advise interested friends in the 
preparation of wills, and we estimate that at least $20,000 
has been written in such wills in favor of this building fund. 
If we add the $15,000 promised by other friends in the 
form of gifts, to be paid as soon as convenient, we estimate 
that about one-half of the $100,000 is now provided. 

Of the total amount received in cash, $11,000 is in the 
form of memorial funds, $4,500 having been furnished dur- 
ing the past year by a valued friend who for many years 
has been a staunch supporter of our work. Any one con- 
tributing as much as $500 can establish a permanent me- 
morial to perpetuate the memory of some beloved relative 
or friend ; and we most cordially commend this plan to the 
consideration of generous individuals. It may also take 
the form of annuities, a per cent, being paid the donors 
during their natural life. 

By reason of its limited amount, the Moore Fund can 
render aid to the feeble churches only. The object of this 
greater fund is to aid by larger loans the churches which 
need, but otherwise could not erect, creditable and attrac- 
tive houses of worship. 

8. Department of Mission Schools. 

The influence of the Presbyterian Church on the world, 
as compared with other denominations, has been out of all 
proportion to its membership roll, and the explanation is 
due to its consistent policy of educating a trained leader- 
ship, accomplished largely through the instrumentality 
of its Mission Schools. 

Dr. J. W. Tyler, Superintendent of Mountain Missions, 
states in his report for 1916: 

"The General Assembly has 46 mountain schools and 
missions. Wherever possible our mission churches and 



54 The Task That Challenges 

schools are turned over to Synodical or Presbyterial con- 
trol and support. However, there are 18 of our smaller 
schools and 4 larger ones entirely dependent upon the sup- 
port and control of the Assembly's Committee. This 
report, therefore, covers only these 22 mission schools. 

"During the year they have had 48 workers for all of 
the time, and 22 for part of the time. They report 204 
professions of faith and 40 additions by letter, with an en- 
rollment of 2,382 in the Sunday-schools, and 1,086 in the 
day schools. Visits made during the year by workers, 
5,663; religious services held, 2,631. They report $1,- 
546.35 collected and spent on the local work; $234.41 given 
to benevolences." 

In the field of general education of the Negroes, our 
Church has expended little, but some of the more energetic 
colored pastors have developed fine parochial schools, as 
at Texarkana, Ark., Selma, Ala., Montgomery, Ala., 
Milton, N. C, Thomasville, Ga., Florence, S. C, North 
Wilkesboro, N. C, Abbeville, S. C, and others. This is 
a fruitful field of missionary effort, and if funds were avail- 
able, it would be a worthy act to give each of these pastors 
an assistant for teacher, and build a schoolhouse hard by 
the church. 

For many years we have been carrying on Mission Schools 
among the Indians; but the coming of statehood, with the 
public school system, has relieved us of the necessity for 
continuing these primary schools. 

Goodland has developed into an Indian orphanage, as 
well as a boarding school. The Indians themselves have 
donated nearly 100 acres of land around the institution, 
and the Executive Committee has erected a girls' dormi- 
tory costing $5,000 and a boys' dormitory costing $2,500. 
There are perhaps over 150 students in attendance, most 
of them boarders. 

By far the most important institution of a missionary 
character for training a future leadership is the Oklahoma 



The Scope of Home Missions 55 

Presbyterian College for Women, located at Durant, 
Okla., which occupies a magnificent campus of thirty acres, 
the gift of friends, costing $27,000. The college building, 
cost about $80,000, and the entire plant is easily worth 
$125,000. 

The number of students has reached 138, including 69 
Indians; and the boarding department last session contained 
88, reaching the limit of its full capacity. Each year from 
20 to 30 of its students are received into the church, and 
it has flourishing missionary societies. Graduates of 
the college are teaching in various schools, and its moral 
and spiritual influence is felt throughout the entire south- 
ern section of the state. Men of means are continually 
seeking an investment where their trust funds will yield 
the largest spiritual dividends. Why does not some Chris- 
tian philanthropist erect a memorial building in connection 
with this splendid institution, which will double the use- 
fulness of the plant and perpetuate not simply his name, but 
his work in all the generations to come. 

The Sin of Omission. 

In concluding this brief survey of the scope of Home 
Missions, it will not be inappropriate to emphasize the 
necessity of avoiding the mistakes of the past. The neg- 
lect of Home Missions is well-nigh universally admitted, 
and lamented as the costliest mistake of the Church. 
No other charge is brought against our Church except the 
sin of omission; but that is not a slight charge. It was 
for the sin of omission that the barren fig tree withered 
beneath the curse of the Master. It was not because it 
brought forth wild fruit or evil fruit, but withered under 
condemnation because it brought forth no fruit. It was 
for the sin of omission that the unprofitable servant went 
out into outer darkness. There was no charge against 
him of squandering his Lord's money, or even of wasting 
it. He returned it carefully wrapped in a napkin, without 



56 The Task That Challenges 

a penny missing; but himself went out into outer darkness 
for the sin of omission. 

It will be for the "sin of omission that the vast multitude 
will stand upon the left hand at the last day, to whom the 
Judge will say: "Depart, ye cursed." There will be no 
charge laid against them of specific crimes and dark deeds ; 
but simply, "I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat; 
I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, 
and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; 
sick and in prison, and ye visited me not." Every charge 
against them is a sin of omission. 

It was due to the sin of omission that Christianity has 
been practically swept from the face of the earth in the 
East — in all Bible lands. It was simply the neglect of 
Arabia, one single country, bordering upon the Holy 
Land; and largely as a result of that sin of omission, 
Mohammedanism sprang out of Arabia, and two hundred 
million people to-day obey its call and recognize its false 
prophet. All around the Mediterranean, where Chris- 
tianity had its earliest and grandest triumphs, Moham- 
medanism has now made Christianity a stranger in the 
land of its birth. It was the sin of omission, just a hundred 
years ago, when the descendants of the "Covenanters" 
and Scotch-Irish landed upon this Western continent and 
moved backward into the interior and lost themselves amid 
the Alleghany mountains. The neglect of the Church, 
failing to follow her sons and daughters, has created the 
unique situation of three million mountaineers, themselves 
"the white man's burden," being practically without the 
gospel, so far as the Presbyterian Church is concerned. 
It was the sin of omission, just seventy-five years ago, 
the neglect of a small movement in the West in one single 
section, which allowed Mormonism to lay its blighting 
touch upon some of the fairest sections of our country; 
and that counterfeit of Christianity is now sending its 
two thousand missionaries into every nook and corner of 



The Scope of Home Missions 57 

our land, with its spurious gospel. It was the sin of omis- 
sion which, forty years ago, lost our Church an empire in 
the West. The failure to support our work in a large sec- 
tion of the country compelled us to retire, until now the 
Presbyterian Church, U. S., has but few churches or min- 
isters in all that lost empire, which ought to be supporting 
a dozen missionaries on the foreign field. 

Now we face our grandest, and perhaps our last oppor- 
tunity of the twentieth century! All the public lands have 
been opened up, railroads cross the country in all direc- 
tions, towns and cities are springing up everywhere, and 
the populations are flowing in like a great floodtide into 
Oklahoma and Western Texas. Will history repeat it- 
self? Will the Church again be guilty of the sin of omis- 
sion; will she lose her last opportunity? If so, who can 
foretell the results? What prophet ''hath vision so keen 
and strong" as to forecast the future, and foretell the con- 
sequences of such neglect? Will the Church know the 
day of her opportunity? 

There is a beautiful poem, which begins "Children of 
yesterday, heirs of tomorrow." "Children of yesterday" 
— we are the consequences of yesterday's policy, of yester- 
day's principles, of yesterday's deeds. There is no escap- 
ing the consequences of yesterday! "Heirs of tomorrow" 
— the policy and deeds of to-day will forecast our future 
of tomorrow. Coleridge has expressed the same thought 
in a single line, in which he says, "In to-day, walks to- 
morrow." The shadow of tomorrow is already upon us 
in the acts of to-day. Paul expressed the same thought 
in a solemn warning: "Whatsoever a man soweth, that 
shall he also reap." It is just as true of a Church as of an 
individual. If our policy to-day is narrow, selfish, con- 
tracted, just as sure as the sun shines tomorrow, it will 
shine upon a narrow, contracted, circumscribed Church. 
If our policy to-day is broad, liberal and expansive, just 
as sure as the sun shines tomorrow, it will shine upon a 



58 The Task That Challenges 

broad, ever-expanding Church, moving onward to a larger 
and grander destiny. 

Napoleon Bonaparte said: "The army that remains al- 
ways behind its fortifications is doomed." It is equally 
true of a Church. Have we not been holding the fort long 
enough in the older sections of our country? Is it not time 
to awake and advance in an aggressive movement upon 
the unoccupied section, expanding with the resources and 
according to the needs of our great Southland? 



IV. 



EVANGELISM— PASTORAL AND PERSONAL. 

The Great Commission is the chief Mission of the 
Church. It has furnished the inspiration of the past; and 
the future promises no higher aspiration. The obscuring 
of its Mission by the Church itself is a sufficient explana- 
tion of relaxed energy and consequent failure. The 
triumph of Christianity has ever been in direct ratio to 
the emphasis which has been placed on the promulgation 
of the Gospel. Human substitutes for the Gospel, and the 
modern program for renovating Society, are foredoomed 
to ultimate and utter failure. The world will never be 
saved by any means other than Evangelism, the preach- 
ing of the gospel of a crucified Christ — esteemed "the 
foolishness of preaching" by the wisdom of this world, 
whether of the Greek philosophy and Judaic formalism 
of Paul's day, or of modern rationalism. 

Evangelism — Its Relative Importance. 

Other things may be important and many can be made 
subservient, but Evangelism is vitally fundamental, 
the sine qua non of the world's salvation. "The good is 
the enemy of the best" has passed into a proverb. In 
questions of methods and policy, the substitution of the 
"good" for the "best" produces damage according to the 
comparative importance of the matter involved. In funda- 
mentals, the blunder is fatal. There is no more mis- 
chievous error than the magnifying of important truth at 
the expense, or to the exclusion, of fundamentals. In the 
natural world corn ground into grist and made into bread 
is nourishing food. Yet if one element be extracted to the 
exclusion of the rest, it becomes a violent alcoholic stimu- 
lant. In the spiritual realm, the same deadly error is 



60 The Task That Challenges 

possible; and it is therefore vitally important to see things 
in the right perspective, and in their proper relations. It 
becomes almost impossible, therefore, to expound the prin- 
ciple of Evangelism and avoid the discussion of related 
subjects. 

Social Service — Its Value. 

Christianity undoubtedly has its social aspect; and the 
Gospel, its ethical sanctions. At the beginning of the 
Twentieth Century, it was boldly proclaimed in eminent 
ecclesiastical circles that the new century must be char- 
acterized by an ethical revival of religion. This was a re- 
action against a type of evangelism predominant in the 
last quarter of the Nineteenth Century, superficial in 
character, and having as its aim the ingathering of mere 
numbers, which tended to lower the standard of Christian 
living. If this ethical awakening had confined itself with- 
in Scriptural bounds, it would no doubt have served the 
righteous purpose of its well-meaning advocates. The 
pendulum has swung, however, to the utmost opposite 
extreme, usurping the evangelistic function; and it is 
producing evils as undesirable as those it sought to cure. 

It has ushered in the age of indiscriminate social service. 
Men are giving free range to their own fancy and follow- 
ing the dictates of human reason and mere sentiment, 
unrestrained by the ''infallible rule of faith and practice." 
Human device is taking the place of divine wisdom. 
Humanitarian programs are exalted above the inspired 
plan of redemption. In its extreme form, Socialism is the 
humanitarian gospel of the sceptic. In its modified 
form, Social Service is the gospel of the modern reformer. 
In its Scriptural aspect, Social Service is not the ante- 
cedent but the consequent of Christianity. It is there- 
fore well worth while to w r eigh its claims and assign it 
its proper function in the gospel scheme of redemption. 



Evangelism — Pastoral and Personal 61 

Social Service — 7/5 Place and Limitations. 

Confusion of thought on this subject ma} 7 result in 
serious damage either by over-emphasizing the sphere of 
Social Service, or else by failing to recognize its scriptural 
function. The crux of the whole matter is largely deter- 
mined by the viewpoint of its advocates. The wrong 
emphasis is partly due to the mistake of grounding it in 
the Old Testament economy rather than in the New Testa- 
ment dispensation. It had larger relative importance 
under the Jewish dispensation because at that time Israel 
was a Theocracy, there being no distinction between Church 
and State. Under the Christian dispensation, there is a 
complete separation between human governments and the 
Kingdom of Christ; and their functions, once overlapping, 
are now absolutely distinct. "My kingdom is not of this 
world." "Render, therefore, unto Caesar the things 
which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are 
God's." 

Economic and social questions in this age pertain chiefly 
to the state. The Old Testament prophet was essentially 
a moral reformer. The New Testament apostle is em- 
phatically an evangelist. A type of the former was Moses 
or Elijah; the spirit of the latter is Christ. The distinctive 
feature of the Old Testament dispensation was the law, 
with its ethical sanctions. The essential feature of the 
New Testament dispensation is the Gospel, with its spiritual 
functions. The Old Testament deals chiefly with the 
nation; the New Testament, almost exclusively with the 
individual as a constituent element of the Kingdom. 

The modern program of Social Service sets for its task 
the curing of existing evils, with its ultimate goal the re- 
formation of society. Evangelical Christianity empha- 
sizes the guilt of sin and the necessity of regeneration as 
the only sovereign remedy. The one has the laudable 
aim of making men comfortable in this life; the other has 



62 



The Task That Challenges 



THE PROBLEM OF AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY. 





POPULATION, U.S., 
P R OTESTANT M EM BER SHIR E=l 
NON- PROTESTANT, MM 

UNCHURCHED POPULATION, ■§ 



102,000,000 
24-, OO 0,000 
I 5,000,000 

65,000,000 




Evangelism — Pastoral and Personal 63 

as its chief concern the salvation of the soul for eternity, 
and incidentally the rewards of righteousness in the present 
life. Social Service would reform the drunkard in order 
to convert him. Christianity would convert him in order 
to reform him. The one would cut down the weeds of 
wickedness; the other would eradicate the roots. Social 
Service should be emphasized, therefore, not as a prepara- 
tion for the Gospel, or substitute, but as a resultant. 

Illustration. 

At one time the Young Men's Christian Association 
was characterized by its fervent zeal in the Moody type 
of lay evangelism. The Sabbath afternoon service was 
the inevitable gospel meeting, and the keynote of each ad- 
dress was personal work in winning souls. At the present 
time its emphasis seems to be placed upon athletics, games, 
entertainment, reading rooms, baths and Bible Classes. 
So long as these things are made subservient to the evan- 
gelistic mission of the Church, they serve a useful purpose. 
Recently, however, a prominent social service reformer, 
addressing a group of Home Mission Secretaries, boldly 
announced that it was dishonest to "bait" men with these 
material things in order to secure an opportunity to make a 
personal offer of salvation; and he advocated Social Ser- 
vice, not as a means, but as an end in itself. 

The Commission of the United Presbyterian Church, 
on Soul Winning, through its Chairman, Dr. J. D. Rankin, 
sounds an additional timely note of warning on this sub- 
ject: 

"Social salvation is becoming the watchword of the day 
The banishment of disease and inhumanity, the purifica' 
tion of civic life, the securing of economic justice, the de" 
struction of the saloon, the prevention of war — in a word" 
the permeation of the whole social order with the spirit of- 
Christian brotherhood, is the goal toward which they 



64 The Task That Challenges 

are moving. They will succeed only as they follow the 
program of Jesus Christ. It is useless to talk to men about 
social service, the missionary program, or any other great 
movement for the uplift of men until you have first de- 
stroyed the selfishness of the human heart and awakened 
in them the love for fellow-men which is the result of the 
spirit of Christ in them. * * * Religion has always 
been the mightiest impulse behind every movement for 
the uplift of men. There are many exceptions, but it is 
indisputable that movements for civic betterment receive 
their chief support from church people. Individual re- 
generation must precede and underlie social reformation 
and missionary effort. They who think to find a remedy 
for social ills in some law or scheme of government have 
erred by the whole diameter of human nature. The ut- 
most that human effort can do is to reform and what the 
world needs is remaking. 

"We hear much about institutional churches. They 
have a gymnasium, a kitchen, a sewing school, a kinder- 
garten, an employment agency, a reading room. Good. 
The pity is they were so late in coming, but the greater 
pity is that their place is so sadly misunderstood. Too 
many regard them as the power instead of the machinery. 
The tendency is to get the kitchen ahead of the prayer 
meeting, the gymnasium before the Christian Union, and 
the kindergarten in front of the Sabbath School. Too 
often the spiritual regeneration of the individual is for- 
gotten in the effort to improve his environment. We are 
trying to cure the diseases of the world by conventions, 
social settlements, and neighborhood houses. W T e are 
using printers' ink instead of prayer, and invoking the en- 
gine instead of the engineer. We are trusting in might 
and power rather than in the Holy Spirit." 



Evangelism — Pastoral and Personal 65 

Humanitarianism. 

Unquestionably the trend of this age is in the direction 
of a humanitarian Gospel as distinct from the evangelical. 
As evidence of this is the fact that more money and effort 
in proportion are being expended on eleemosynary institu- 
tions by some religious bodies than in direct evangelistic 
effort. Yet the inmates of these institutions are numbered 
by the hundred, while the unevangelized in the same area 
reach into hundreds of thousands. No Synod or Presby- 
tery is expending too much on the humanitarian side; but 
the argument is from the less to the greater, the a fortiori 
method being a favorite of Christ. If thousands of dollars 
are expended on the few, and on their temporal needs in 
the interests of a common humanity, "how much more," 
to use the Master's phrase, should be expended upon the 
great masses in the interest of their eternal salvation! 

Humanitarianism appeals even to the unregenerate, 
utterly regardless of the Christian motive. Evangelism 
appeals to the most spiritual element in the number of the 
regenerate. Humanitarianism and evangelical Chris- 
tianity have a meeting point in the sphere of applied Chris- 
tianity. They seem to coincide and join hands in good 
works and deeds of kindness; and yet they are poles apart 
in the motive that prompts. The one is prompted solely 
by love of humanity; the other is actuated both by love 
of our neighbor and by love of Christ, "for whosoever shall 
give you a cup of water to drink, in my name, because ye 
belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose 
his reward." It matters not whether it is by the indi- 
vidual Christian or by the Church in its organized capacity, 
the principle is exactly the same. The judgment test is 
not ethical, but evangelical. Is there no difference be- 
tween the barkeeper who contributes to the temporal re- 
lief of the family of his victim, and the Christian who min- 
isters to the same in the name and spirit of Christ? Will 



66 The Task That Challenges 

the purely humanitarian acts of the unregenerate entitle 
them to the commendation of the Master: "Inasmuch as 
ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, 
ye have done it unto me"? Is there no difference between 
the unitarian and humanitarian gospel of salvation by 
works* and the evangelical gospel of salvation by grace? 

In a remarkably clear address, now published in tract 
form, Harriet Thompson enforces in striking terms the 
distinction between Humanitarian Betterment Work and 
Christian service for suffering humanity: "The natural 
human spirit which we inherit from Adam has in it two dis- 
tinct elements — the Morally-Good and the Morally-Bad. 

"Humanitarianism, of which humanitarian betterment 
work is the outward expression, is earth-born. Its source 
is in the Morally-Good element of the natural human heart. 
It is earthly in its aim. It has to do with things of tem- 
poral value. It concerns itself with food, clothing, environ- 
ment, recreation, ventilation, education, legislation, civiliza- 
tion—all necessary and excellent things in this earth-life 
of ours. It has much to say about man's relationships 
and duties to his fellow-men. As to character in those 
whom it serves, it seeks nothing beyond or above the 
Morally-Good in the natural human heart. Its stream 
rises no higher than its source. 

"Christianity, of which Christian service is the out- 
come, is heaven-born. It proceeds from the heart of God. 
It is heavenly in its aim. It has to do with eternal values. 
Its supreme purpose is to secure everlasting salvation to 
all who can be induced to receive it through the preaching 
and teaching of the Word of God. It concerns itself 
primarily with man's relationship and duty to God — with 
the Gospel which is the power of God unto salvation ; with 
God's truth about sin and Satan, those two great destroyers 
of the happiness, temporal and eternal, of the souls of men; 
with the power of the Word of God to cleanse from sin and 
protect from Satan. 



Evangelism — Pastoral and Personal 67 

"Its betterment work is as effectual and as far-reaching 
as the humanitarian, but it is never divorced from the 
truth concerning eternal salvation or from Christ as. 
Saviour." 

Illustrating the difference between the two, MissThompr 
son takes "Hull House in Chicago, where it is not per- 
mitted that the name of Christ be mentioned, as an ex- 
cellent example of humanitarian betterment work," with 
Jane Addams, its leader, as taking "high rank among the 
naturally noble souled women of all the earth"; while 
"the Salvation Army affords an example of Christian better- 
ment work" where the evangelistic note is never divorced 
from social service. 

"He preached of science — -an attentive throng 

Admiring heard; • 

The nation's weal— the listening multitude 

Approved his word; 
The social need — and thousands gave 

Assenting nod; 
He preached the Cross — and men were won, 

From sin to God." 



A Revival of Evangelical Revivals. 

This discussion is by no means apart from the subject. 
In view of the undue emphasis on the humanitarian ten- 
dency of the age, there must be a new and corresponding 
emphasis on evangelism as the chief and overmastering 
business of the Church. In intent it has a two-fold aim, 
the salvation of the individual and the ultimate extension 
of the Kingdom. In the content of its scope it involves 
primarily the spiritual regeneration of men, and incidentally 
the social reformation of society. In extent it is world- 
wide in its Mission. "The Kingdom of Heaven is like 
unto leaven, which a woman took and, hid in three: meas- 
ures of meal till the whole was leavened." 



68 The Task That Challenges 

The human evangel attempts its goal by human means 
calculated to cure existing evils. The divine plan applies 
the remedy to sin, as the root of evil. New emphasis 
must therefore be placed on evangelical themes and the 
cardinal doctrines of grace. The evangelism needed to 
counteract modern thought must deal in no uncertain 
terms with such subjects as the guilt and conviction of 
sin, the soul's lost estate, the atonement, regeneration, 
repentance, holiness, heaven and hell. The growing in- 
difference to personal salvation, the claims of Christ and 
the church, is the outcome of an emasculated gospel. 
The watchmen of Zion must sound an alarm that will 
aw r aken this generation to the momentous issues involving 
the eternal destiny of immortal souls. 

The Need of Evangelism. 

1. The need is as old as sin— the first evangelistic 
message was spoken in Eden by God Himself, to the first 
lost souls. It involved all the essential features of the 
gospel of every dispensation, Patriarchal, Jewish, and 
Christian — conviction of sin and the promise of salvation. 
The Son of God honored the office of evangelist by conse- 
crating his life to the ministry. "The Spirit of the Lord 
is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the 
Gospel to the poor — to proclaim the acceptable year of 
the Lord." 

" 'Tis not a cause of small import 
The pastor's care demands, 
But what might fill an angel's heart, 
And filled a Saviour's hands." 

2. The need is world-wide. "Go ye into all the world 
and preach the Gospel to every creature." The Commis- 
sion has lost nothing of its force. After nineteen hundred 
years, Philosophy, Philanthropy, Science, Moral Culture 
and Education have alike failed to lift a lost world out of 



Evangelism — Pastoral and Personal 69 

the filth of sin. The Gospel alone has proven the power of 
God unto salvation. It is effective alike for the untutored 
savage and the profoundest philosopher. Their need is 
the same and the remedy identical. No other method of 
bringing this spiritual dynamic to bear upon a lost soul has 
been devised than Evangelism. 

3. The need is increasing with the multiplying popula- 
tions of the globe. This is universally accounted the 
great missionary age of the church. Never since the 
apostolic zeal which characterized the first century has 
the church been so conscious of her mission and so active 
in missionary operations as in this Twentieth Century. 
The fervor of ministerial zeal is duplicated by the Lay- 
men's Missionary Movement. Yet the Church is confessed- 
ly making but little appreciative impression upon the 
heathen world. Heathen are not being converted as 
fast as they are being born. As a matter of fact, heathen- 
ism is gaining on Christianity. The statement is circu- 
lating in missionary periodicals that in China, for example, 
Protestant Mission work during the past one hundred and 
sixteen years, and Roman Catholic Missions for three 
hundred and sixty years, have won Chinese converts aggre- 
gating only 1,800,000; yet the annual increase of popula- 
tion in that country is 1,900,000. 

Men are blinding themselves to the awful fact, and at- 
tempting to find comfort as well as stimulate new mis- 
sionary effort, by false comparisons and misleading sta- 
tistics. The population of the earth is about 1,600,000,000. 
Only 500,000,000 are classified as Christians; and to make 
even so favorable a showing requires the counting of the 
entire population of Europe, America, Australia and the 
adherents in heathen lands as Christians, whether Catholic 
or Protestant, Coptic or Armenian, Christian Science or 
Mormon. The evangelization of the world in this genera- 
tion is the slogan of the Church ; but if this worthy goal is 
reached, it will be by a church-wide evangelistic upheaval 



70 The Task That Challenges 

which will recognize the fact that the Church in its greatest 
missionary age is as yet only "playing at missions." The 
need is so appalling, so appealing, so compelling, as to make 
invidious comparisons and uncharitable jealousies between 
Home and Foreign Missions little short of criminal. 

4. The need is personal and individualistic. The Great 
Commission stresses the universality twice. "Go ye into 
all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature." 
The task cannot be accomplished by wholesale. A na- 
tion may be born in a day; but it will be as individuals. 
Evangelism is strictly a personal equation — individual 
touch with individual soul. Statistics of church member- 
ship are often misleading and obscure the task by concealing 
the need. It is perhaps easier for the "shepherd" (pastor) 
to find the lost sheep in the "wilderness" of the world than 
for the "woman" (church) to recover by diligent search 
the lost jewel within the enclosure of her own "house." 
The unregenerate are unsaved, whether hidden within the 
church or lost amid the world's masses. The supreme need 
is the evangelistic spirit of the Master, that shall fill the 
church "like a mighty rushing wind," as at Pentecost, 
whereby souls singly and by the thousands among all 
nations are transformed through the mighty power of the 
Gospel. 

Dr. J. D. Rankin, Chairman of the Commission on Soul 
Winning, in his report to the United Presbyterian Church, 
stresses the supreme need of emphasizing the personal 
element in salvation: 

"Your Commission is asked to discuss with you the 
regeneration of the individual. The discussion is timely. 
In recent years the church has strangely forgotten this part 
of her work, and is now awakening to her mistake. * * * 
It is asserted on what seems to be reliable figures that not a 
single denomination in America is taking care of its natural 
increase, to say nothing of those beyond its borders. Dr. 
Thomas Dixon said a few years ago that the growth of 



Evangelism — Pastoral and Personal 71 

the Protestant churches in New York in the past twenty- 
five years represented less than one-fourth of the birth 
rate of their membership; that the Baptists had not only 
failed to gain anything on the outside, but had lost two- 
thirds of the children born in their own homes; that the 
Methodists had lost one-half of their children and the 
Presbyterians one-third. Dr. Aked said, 'I am sure that 
Dr. Dixon is right about this.' There are fifty thousand 
fewer Protestant church members in New York than there 
were ten years ago. * * * A fairer view may be 
gained from a wider outlook. In 1906 the Congregational 
Church reported a net loss in its Sabbath schools, and a 
gain in church membership of only 12,000 — 3,000 of these 
came from other denominations, so that there was a net 
gain of only 9,000 from her membership of 700,000. Esti- 
mating that one child was born for every fourteen of the 
membership this would make a net loss of 40,000 of her 
own children. That is, they received into the church less 
than one-fifth of the children born in Congregational 
homes. We have 22,000,000 Protestant church members 
in this country. Last year (1912) we made a net gain of 
450,000. One of the largest denominations had a net gain 
of only one-half of one per cent. The combined evangelical 
churches had a net gain of only one and four-fifths per cent., 
while the population of the United States increased more 
than two per cent. 

"What is the meaning of these figures? Clearly, that 
so far as winning souls is concerned the Church is not 
holding her own. Some explain it by the materialistic 
spirit of the age. Doubtless this is a strong factor, but 
the age is not more materialistic than the first century 
when the gospel swept the world. The secret lies deeper. 
It is the Church's failure to seek the spiritual regeneration 
of the individual. She seems to have forgotten that indi- 
vidual evangelism was the base of Jesus' work and must 
ever continue to be the condition of the Church's growth." 



72 The Task That Challenges 

The Testimony of Dr. W. E. Beiderwolf. 

11 'Someone, in speaking of the mission and influence of 
the Church in the world, has said that while we can take 
off our hats to the past, we must take off our coats to the 
future.' About two per cent., and possibly a little more, 
this last year, is the story of our increase. We point to our 
magnificent temples of worship that lift their spires above 
the city's noise and strife, and to the cross-crowned spires 
of villages and country roads; we number with pride our 
renowned preachers, and confess to an intelligence and an 
equipment in the Church of Christ such as no other age 
has ever known. But we must not forget that all this 
may be true, and yet the Church may with all this slowly 
change into a sepulchre of death. It is well to meet in our 
mammoth conventions, appoint committees, organize 
new societies, revise our creeds, if they need it, and con- 
gratulate ourselves upon our increasing influence in other 
ways, but we must not blind ourselves to the plain, blunt 
truth, that the Church can do all this and yet, if it does not 
increase numerically, it will dwindle and die. Chris- 
tianity has never yet really come to its own in this land, 
and our country is yet awaiting to see what God can do 
when the Church gives to the sacred and divinely ap- 
pointed office of evangelism her best thought, her truest 
sympathy, and her most earnest attention, and the pastors 
and the evangelists whom the Church approves become 
united in a determined, well-conceived, untiring effort to 
win the people of this land for Christ." 

An Evangelistic Campaign. 

Already there are indications of a gracious awakening. 
Evangelistic Committees have been appointed by many 
Evangelical Christian bodies. Evangelistic policies have 
been outlined and programs adopted. In our own com- 
munion, a year of intercession led up to an Evangelistic 



Evangelism — Pastoral and Personal 73 

Assembly, at which time the largest ingathering in our 
history was reported. A Superintendent of Evangelism 
has been elected and the following Evangelistic Policy 
adopted : 

1. The Superintendent of Evangelism elected by the 
Executive Committee of Home Missions shall be a man of 
recognized gifts in soul winning, himself leading the field 
work as far as his time and official duties will permit. 

2. Associated with him shall be a corps of evangelists 
elected by the Executive Committee of Home Missions, 
the number being determined by the providence of God, 
the Assembly having already authorized at least two addi- 
tional men. 

3. The Superintendent of Evangelism, with the advice 
and assistance of the Executive Committee of Home 
Missions, shall direct die work, arranging as far as possible 
the details of appointments, taking such part in the con- 
duct of meetings as is consistent with his other responsi- 
bilities. 

4. Synodical, Presbyterial, Local and other Evangelistic 
Conferences for educating and stimulating every part of 
the Church in a great evangelistic work, shall be conducted 
by the Superintendent himself, as far as possible, by his 
associates under his direction, and by such accredited 
leaders as shall be secured for this purpose. 

5. A voluntary force of pastors with special evangelistic 
gifts shall be secured for conducting such evangelistic 
services as cannot be reached by the general evangelists 
secured by the Executive Committee. 

6. The Superintendent shall be in close touch with the 
Executive Committees of Synods and Presbyteries for the 
purpose of rendering any assistance possible in the way of 
securing Presbyterial and Synodical evangelists and pro- 
moting evangelistic work. 



74 The Task That Challenges 

7. As far as possible, the Superintendent and associated 
Evangelists shall encourage evangelistic preaching and 
services by the pastors themselves, and special periods in 
individual churches of evangelistic efforts, in which the 
services of the entire membership as far as possible shall be 
enlisted. 

8. TJie details of the work, such as the use of evan- 
gelistic literature, visitation of schools and colleges, etc., 
shall be left to the discretion of the Superintendent of 
Evangelism and the Sub-Committee of Evangelism. r 

Pastoral Evangelism. 

In order to re-enforce with all possible emphasis the 
necessity and value of an earnest evangelistic ministry, 
the following well authenticated experience of one of our 
pastors is recorded to induce others to adopt this or some 
similar campaign of work. While perhaps not the best for 
all soul winners, yet it may be suggestive and made the 
basis of some modified plan by which each individual may 
work out for himself a program with improved evangelistic 
methods. 

i. Evangelistic Preaching. 

At the beginning of his ministry, the rule was adopted 
and rigidly practiced during its entire duration, of opening 
the doors of the church at the close of every preaching 
service, and extending a cordial invitation to accept Christ, 
or else to confer with the ambassador for Christ, on the 
subject of personal salvation. No matter what the sub- 
ject of the message, the preacher kept before his mind the 
fact that he faced some unconverted souls, which imparted 
an evangelistic tone to the service, and he laid the responsi- 
bility upon sinners for an immediate decision. The night 
service was almost invariably and emphatically evangelistic. 
It impressed the audience with the thought that "con- 



Evangelism — Pastoral and Personal 75 

venient seasons" were a delusion, and that "Now is (al- 
ways) the accepted time." To anticipate conversions at 
every service, both exercised the preacher's faith in his 
message and stimulated his efforts to secure immediate 
results. Often his faith and effort were weakened by some 
doubting Thomas, but in the main were rewarded. During 
one year which memory recalls, not a Sabbath passed be- 
tween January and April without some addition to the 
church. The pastor's register preserves the record. 

2. Evangelistic Meetings. 

Regularly special services were planned, more or less 
frequent, according to providential indications; but no 
year was ever allowed to pass without an evangelistic 
meeting in each church served. Ordinarily diligent effort 
was made to secure the assistance of some man gifted with 
the qualification of soul winning, but if providentially 
hindered in securing him, the pastor never called off the 
meeting, but acted on the theory and faith that in such 
cases God had called him to act the part of evangelist 
himself for the occasion. 

Once during his pastorate in a large city, at the Evan- 
gelical Ministers' Association on Monday morning, a reso- 
lution was introduced, and after prayerful consideration, 
adopted, requesting every pastor at the approaching Wed- 
nesday evening prayer service to begin special evangelistic 
services in a simultaneous city-wide campaign. It contro- 
verted and disproved the theory that simultaneous meetings 
hinder each other. With scant preparation and without 
assistance, services were begun immediately in the Presby- 
terian Church, conducted by the pastor for three weeks, 
and there was a relative larger number of additions to the 
membership than at any other church in the city. Under 
the inspiration of successful soul winning, while in the spirit 
of importunate and intercessory prayer, sermons spring 



76 The Task That Challenges 

into being of their own accord and God's Spirit is con- 
sciously, almost visibly, felt by the preacher, which power- 
fully moves the people. 

On another occasion while serving a group, where pro- 
fessional evangelistic assistance failed, the pastor preached 
to his own people for forty days, which included the month 
of August, resting only each Saturday during the entire 
period, and was physically stronger at the close of the 
services than at the beginning. The results were simply 
marvelous, and the power of God was signally manifest 
in the salvation of men. 

The most unique experience was the conducting of two 
simultaneous meetings nearly ten miles apart. A visiting 
minister assisted the pastor in town, while the latter rode 
ten miles in the country, before the era of automobiles, 
preached twice each day with intermission of an hour 
between services, and returned to town in time to take part 
in the night service. These two simultaneous meetings 
lasted a week with remarkable features, and persons were 
baptized as the result of each meeting. 

Advantage in Disadvantage. 

Owing to lack of confidence in self and lack of faith in 
God, most pastors hesitate to undertake an evangelistic 
campaign in their own church, unassisted. As a matter of 
fact, there are distinct advantages in the plan. 1. It culti- 
vates a sense of dependence on God, the secret of spiritual 
power, and makes the personality of God more sensibly 
real than in any other way, except possibly in extreme 
illness or sore bereavement. 2. It throws a church on its 
own resources, which wins for the pastor such sympathetic 
co-operation of his people that instead of disappointing, 
they will put forth their best efforts, and before the meet- 
ing closes, they will assure him it was the most effective 
preaching they ever heard, and how profoundly grateful 



Evangelism-^-Pastoral and Personal 77 

they are that they had no special evangelist. In services 
of this character, pastor and people will know each other 
as never before. If any man is a doubting Thomas, let 
him accept the challenge to try the experiment. "Can 
there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" "Come and 
see" 3. It brings the preacher in more direct touch with 
the unsaved. The crowds will probably not be so great, 
but the individuals will not thereby be hidden in the mass. 
Preacher and audience will each realize that the appeal is 
more personal and direct. 4. Continued services of this 
character are splendid physical exercise, and would be a 
good substitute for golf links. The feeling of fatigue is 
frequently due to auto-suggestion, and instead of getting 
some physician to prescribe "a much needed rest," let 
the pastor try the experiment, as an alternative, of con- 
ducting evangelistic services in his own church for two 
weeks. 5. It cultivates preaching ability. The best 
method of learning to preach is to preach. Spurgeon, the 
prince of preachers, says it is easier to preach every day in 
the week than once on the Sabbath. There are failures 
in the ministry because they misapprehend the purpose of 
a sermon. Polished and logical sermons are beautiful 
works of art, but the most polished works of art are but 
lifeless stone, the imitation of life. After a seminary course, 
thus laying a good foundation, the minister who would 
improve his preaching power should undertake instead 
of a post graduate course, special services in his own 
church under the inspiration and tuition of the Holy 
Spirit, whose gracious infilling will speedily impress him 
that the purpose of a sermon is to win souls, and the direct 
object of preaching is to get an immediate verdict. He 
will be better instructed in the art of preaching in two weeks 
than in all the post graduate courses on earth. 6. It will 
produce the best results. There will be more genuine 
conversions if he places himself under the control of the 
Spirit than by all the galvanic revivals worked up by the 



78 The Task That Challenges 

most ingenious expert. 7. Above all things, it will save 
the embarrassment of professionalism. He will not be 
embarrassed by being made a factor in questionable ma- 
chinery, or compelled to work up crowds to satisfy the 
professional evangelist or under the necessity of count- 
ing numbers to prevent the meeting being considered a 
failure; or of using high pressure to increase the "free will 
offering" at the close, so mortifying to all concerned, and 
in many cases partaking of commercialism to such extent 
as to counterbalance the good accomplished. 

j. Personal Pastoral Evangelism. 

In addition to evangelistic preaching and evangelistic 
meetings conducted by the pastor himself, a third means 
must be mentioned to complete the chapter of this pastor's 
experience. To distinguish it from personal work shared 
by all Christian people, this is denominated personal 
pastoral evangelism. It or something equivalent should 
be employed by every pastor who has a passion to win 
souls. First of all, a complete prayer list should be kept 
of all the unchurched in the congregation and community. 
It will serve the purpose of intercessory prayer, in itself 
calculated to kindle to intense heat the interest of the 
pastor in their individual cases. It will answer the objec- 
tion of the ' 'Session" that there is no ."material" for an 
evangelistic meeting. This objection is usually the first 
obstacle which confronts the pastor when special services 
are proposed. 

This prayer list is invaluable as a practical basis for 
' 'professional" visits in personal pastoral work. The 
plan pursued was very simple, but most effective. One 
by one, the persons on this list were selected for regular 
pastoral visits, after securing the consent of each party. 
Explaining carefully that the object of such visits is to con- 
verse freelv and informally on the subject of personal salva- 
tion, if consent was obtained, very seldom did the effort 



Evangelism — Pastoral and Personal 79 

fail to lead the individual to Christ and into the fold. It is 
doubtful whether more were won by this apostolic method 
of "House-to-house," or by the ministry of the pulpit. 

The following illustrations will serve to show the method 
used and the results obtained. In the congregation were 
four sisters whose ages ranged from twenty to thirty. 
The father attended no church, the mother was a com- 
municant of another denomination. The four sisters 
attended the Presbyterian Church as regularly as the 
average church member. Selecting the youngest as the 
most approachable, it was explained that the pastor de- 
sired to make her a personal visit two or three times a 
month, to talk informally on personal religion. Assurance 
was given that it was to be friendly, and in a pleasant 
way, without embarrassment. Her consent was most 
cordially given. The first pastoral visit was naturally 
slightly embarrassing to both. Her conversation was 
somewhat constrained, and her objections to entering 
upon a Christian life were the usual stereotyped "excuses," 
and not candid reasons. By the time the second visit 
ended the reserve was broken down, her real feelings were 
revealed, and she was evidently interested, and according- 
ly they knelt and prayed together. After a few such visits, 
the pastor suggested that he did not wish to pursue her, 
and would discontinue whenever she so desired. Upon 
this she became the one to insist on the continuance, say- 
ing she was thoroughly interested, really desired to be a 
Christian, but had as yet experienced no special change 
and lacked "feeling." During the same time the pastor 
was talking in the same way to a young man, and they be- 
gan talking to each other. About two months after these 
visits began, one Sabbath night the pastor preached on 
"Thou art not far from the Kingdom of God," and gave 
his usual invitation at the close of the service, and pro- 
nounced the benediction. The young woman came rush- 
ing up the aisle with tears rolling down her cheeks, ex- 



80 The Task That Challenges 

claiming, "Oh, Dr., it's come, it's come!" At the same 
time the young man came up the other aisle, and neither 
had seen the other till they met before the pulpit. 

Exactly the same method was pursued with the other 
sisters, and one by one they were received into the Presby- 
terian Church except one, who for good reasons went into 
her mother's church. 

During a meeting in which Dr. Nathan Bachman assisted, 
the pastor went out in the afternoon for personal work, 
and stopped at a house where he found the family all away, 
except a young lady from another city visiting her sister. 
In order to give a natural religious turn to the conversa- 
tion, the sermon which Dr. Bachman had just preached 
was rehearsed. As she became interested, the claims of 
Christ were pressed upon her, and the interview was closed 
with prayer. She immediately and definitely accepted 
the offer of salvation, and was received into the church on 
the following Sabbath. Within less than a year she de- 
veloped tuberculosis and died in the faith. 

In one instance this method was pursued with an ex- 
ceptionally fine mother who had been brought up in the 
Primitive Baptist faith, and it required more than two years 
to bring her to a decision, but the remarkable triumph 
of her faith was worth the effort, and the development of 
Christian character led her finally to the presidency of the 
Woman's Aid Society. 

These are given as specimens of many won by this 
method. By wise and prudent use of such or similar 
methods, almost any pastor can have a fruitful ministry, 
and grow in the sanctified art of winning souls. 

Lay Evangelism and Personal Work. 

Influenced by a jealous regard for the ministry of Moses, 
one ran to him with the intelligence that "Eldad and 
Medad" were prophesying in the midst of the camp. His 
reply was both characteristic and creditable: "Would God 



Evangelism — Pastoral and Personal 81 

that all the Lord's people were prophets.*" God's manifest 
endorsement of the work of such men as Moody, influences 
the Church to encourage gifted and zealous men to conduct 
religious services by exhorting men to repentance and the 
acceptance of Christ, even though these laymen, for good 
and sufficient reasons, could not enter the ranks of the or- 
dained ministry. In the most comprehensive of all the 
invitations of the Gospel, provision is made and responsi- 
bility laid on all Christian people to join in the evangelistic 
campaign of soul winning: "The Spirit and the Bride say 
come." If any individual Christian excuses himself 
(though a member of the body of Christ, "the bride") on 
the ground that this invitation means the official message 
by the Church, through its called representatives, the next 
statement so enlarges the responsibility as to include un- 
mistakably the individual: "Let him that heareth say come." 

The ministry is the official and ordained means of evan- 
gelizing the world, but the task is too tremendous, and will 
not be speedily accomplished until the outpouring of the 
Spirit upon all flesh, and there is a return to the apostolic 
methods of the primitive Church in the early days of Chris- 
tianity, wherein the whole body of believers joined the 
campaign of spreading the Gospel. "Personal Workers 
Legions" and "Win One Campaigns" are efforts of well 
meaning people to enlist individual Christians in the blessed 
work of soul winning. They are steps in the right direction, 
but are nevertheless inadequate to the need. Nothing 
short of a universal movement to awaken the entire Church 
to the consciousness that by its Commission and Constitu- 
tion, the Church itself is a "Personal Workers' League," 
will be adequate to meet the exigency of the world's need. 
If the Church could be aroused to the possibility and re- 
sponsibility of the matter, no man could say how easily 
and speedily the evangelization of the world could be 
accomplished. 

Rev. W. E. Beiderwolf, evangelist, has made the startling 



82 The Task That Challenges 

calculation that if but one Christian existed in all the world, 
and he should win one man in a year, and each in turn 
should win another annually, by the law of geometrical 
progression it would require only thirty-two and one-half 
years to win the world. 

One of the most striking and helpful leaflets ever issued 
on this subject is entitled, "Suppose," published by the 
Great Commission Prayer League, of Chicago, 111. It is 
available for gratuitous distribution. The first sentence 
is given as an indication of its purpose and spirit: 

"Suppose some one were to offer me a thousand dollars 
for every soul that I might earnestly try to lead to Christ, 
would I endeavor to lead any more souls to him than I am 
endeavoring to do now? Is it possible that I would attempt 
to do for money, even at the risk of blunders or ridicule, 
what I hesitate or shrink from doing now in obedience to 
God's command? Is my love of money stronger than my 
love of God, or of souls? How feeble, then, my love of 
God! Perhaps this explains why I am not a soul-winner." 

Who can forecast the consequences of winning one soul for 
Christ? "Andrew first findeth his own brother Simon . . . 
and he brought him to Jesus." His brother Simon Peter 
brought 3,000 to Christ on the day of Pentecost. These 
3,000 won others, and in all probability both author and 
reader are Christians to-day as the result of a long line of 
antecedents and personal conversions as the direct result 
of Andrew's act in winning his brother for Christ. 

Wilberforce, in God's hands, was the instrument of con- 
verting Philip Doddridge, who in turn led Richard Baxter 
to Christ. Richard Baxter wrote "The Call to the Un- 
converted," which powerfully affected the author in the 
critical period of youth and has led other hundreds and 
thousands to Christ. The stream will go on multiplying, 
and eternity alone will reveal the vast number of the saved 
through this instrumentality. 

The highest tribute paid one of our pastors was the inno- 



Evangelism — Pastoral and Personal 83 

cent remark of a child, who was always one of his most in- 
terested hearers. One day while playing with his children, 
she said to him, "Do you know why I always love to hear 
you preach?" "No, Fannie, won't you please tell me?" 
"Why," said she, "it is because you take such an interest in 
religion." That guileless remark of a simple child made 
a tremendous impression. If the same effect were pro- 
duced on the entire audience by every sermon preached; 
and if every Christian took a profound interest in the 
salvation of other souls, in its highest significance, the 
"Kingdom of Heaven would be at hand," and the evan- 
gelization of the world, a speedily finished task. 



V. 

THE BLACK MAN'S BURDEN. 

"And hath made of one (blood) all nations of men for to 
dwell on all the face of the earth." In these emphatic 
terms Paul, standing in the midst of Mars Hill, declared 
to the race-proud Athenians the fact of the unity of the 
human race. Charles Darwin, in his "Origin of the 
Species," adds the weight of his authority. Religion and 
Science in their last analysis are never in contradiction. 
Upon the scientific fact of blood relationship, Philanthropy 
bases the brotherhood of man. Upon the revealed fact of 
redemption by the blood of Christ, Christianity grounds the 
brotherhood of believers. 

Race Prejudice. 

Unity of blood, however, does not prevent race pre- 
judice. Christianity itself is not able entirely to overcome 
prejudices which have a natural basis. The mutual 
antipathy between Caucasian and Negro is not more deep- 
rooted than between American and Oriental on the Pacific 
Coast. In the caste system of India it finds its extreme 
development in class antipathy, more exclusive and bitter 
than race prejudice. Pharisaic condemnation of those who 
will not accord to the Negro social equality does not serve 
to protect the Negro from more unsympathetic treatment 
by the critics themselves. 

The Discipline of Slavery. 

In the development of a nation, more than once divine 
Providence has utilized as a training school the institution 
of slavery. During a period of 400 years, God's chosen 
people were subject to the bitter bondage of Egypt until 
they were solidified into a nation. History abounds in 



The Black Man's Burden 85 

illustrations of inferior peoples being subjected to the up- 
lifting influences of superiors as masters. The same prin- 
ciple obtains in the apprenticeship of an artisan to a master 
mechanic. In his minority, the child is absolutely in the 
power of the parent. 

In all such relationships there has been the abuse of 
power. Cruel fathers are as much in evidence as cruel 
masters. If love ordinarily restrains the father from ill- 
treatment of the child, self-interest likewise served to pre- 
vent the abuse of the slave. In addition to this considera- 
tion, quite frequently there existed between master and 
slave genuine affection and a sincere friendship, honoring 
alike to both. The Simon Legree of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" 
finds a duplicate in many an unnatural father. The author 
in early childhood was reared in close touch with slavery. 
Among dozens of masters, he remembers but one recognized 
as cruel, and he was under the ban of ostracism by 
society for his offense. In the same community lived a 
father who was accustomed to horsewhip his own son so 
severely that when the latter was discovered hanging to 
the limb of a tree, it could not be ascertained whether it 
was suicide to escape a condition intolerable, or murder 
on the part of the father. 

Not an Unmitigated Evil. 

This is no apology for slavery. It can summon Scrip- 
tural sanctions and show divine regulations for master and 
slave. It was not the "sum of all villainies," and it was by 
no means an unmitigated evil. In many instances it was 
simply a question of masters, the difference between an 
irresponsible savage brute of a master in Africa, having the 
power of life and death, and a civilized master in America, 
restrained by law, by public opinion and by Christianity. 
The most serious fault laid to its charge was an occasional 
separation of husband and wife; but it compelled ten times 
as many husbands and wives to be faithful as it ever parted. 



86 The Task That Challenges 

Negro marriages are not so sacred to-day as when slavery 
restrained the vicious. The author can recall but one in- 
stance of the severe whipping of an adult slave, and that 
was for interfering with the marital relations of another 
Negro. 

Beneficial Effects. 

It produced the happiest race of serfs the world has ever 
known. Slavery was not specially repulsive to the Negro. 
It relieved him of all responsibility and care for food and 
raiment, and guaranteed medical attention in sickness 
and protection from want in his declining years. Nowhere 
else on earth was such affection between master and slave. 
Booker T. Washington's remarkable showing of Negro 
progress in "Up from Slavery" should have dated further 
back and been entitled "Up from Savagery." Contact 
with the white man gave him his one chance. In his native 
land he had made no progress within historic times. The 
difference between the Afro-American and the African is 
a sufficient vindication of slavery. 

Slavery as a Missionary Agency. 

Statistics show that it was the most successful mis- 
sionary agency ever owned and blessed of God. From 
1829 to 1865 fifty million dollars were spent on Missions 
in foreign lands with scarcely any appreciable results 
comparatively. During that period there must have been 
at least a million Negro slaves in America won for Chris- 
tianity, since there were in 1864 at least 550,000 living 
Negro communicants on the roll of the various churches. 
It is claimed that 48 per cent, of the Negroes (four and one- 
half millions) to-day are identified with the church, which 
is almost twice as many as there are converts in all the 
heathen countries of the world. At least $25,000,000 are 
now annually expended on Foreign Missions, and it is 
money well invested and fully justified by the facts; but 



The Black Man's Burden 87 

it dwindles into insignificance in comparison with slavery 
as an indirect propaganda of Christianity. 

Abolition. 

The difficulties of abolishing slavery were greater than 
superficial people imagined. It was easy to cut the Gordian 
knot by extremists who boldly demanded "An anti- 
slavery Bible and anti-slavery God," but what provision 
could be made for the freedmen? The experiment of 
colonization in Liberia was tried, and after a few years of 
untold suffering, the survivors begged piteously for re- 
storation to the United States. Many masters were 
willing to manumit their slaves, but that they could not 
be judiciously managed in slave holding communities, 
and they were forbidden to emigrate North. When John 
Randolph freed 325, they were not allowed to remain three 
days in Mercer County, Ohio, on land purchased for them, 
although they were able to give bond for good behavior. 
In Illinois, the state of Abraham Lincoln, the Courts de- 
cided that they were not citizens and forbade their emigra- 
tion to any settlement in that state. 

Instead of peaceful legislation and Christian settlement 
of the perplexing question, the politicians of the South and 
the fanatics of the North plunged the whole country into 
a cruel civil war; and emancipation was employed as a 
war measure, and the institution was ended at an enormous 
cost of blood and treasure. 

Requiescat in Pace. 

The institution is forever dead. In the providence of 
God it has served its purpose in disciplining and developing 
an inferior race. Economic conditions and climate con- 
fined it to the South. That section which inherited it 
and defended it as a sacred trust is relieved of a tremendous 
responsibility which could not again be thrust upon it 
even at the point of a bayonet. 



88 The Task That Challenges 

Negro Progress in Fifty Years. 

Considering his environment, his handicap of ignorance 
and poverty, the subordination of his best interests by 
crafty politicians to their unscrupulous schemes, thereby 
alienating his truest friends, it must be admitted even by 
his most unsympathetic critics that no race has ever done 
better in the face of such formidable obstacles. 

Economic. 

Statistics collected for the Negro Year Book indicate 
that he owns 550,000 homes. In other words, counting 
men, women and children, about one in every twenty 
owns his own home. He operates 937,000 farms, at 
least 40 per cent, of the farmers in the South being Negroes. 
Businesses operated by Negroes amount to 40,000. The 
sum total of his wealth is $700,000,000, which is increasing 
at the rate of $25,000,000 annually. 

Much of this wealth is in the hands of the few, and 
millions of the race are in abject poverty, living from hand to 
mouth, without the slightest concern for the future. Robert 
E. Church, of Memphis, Tenn., died recently, leaving an 
estate valued at $2,000,000; and John McKee, of Phila- 
delphia, died a millionaire. The wealthiest Negro in 
America to-day is Sarah Rector, a ten-year-old Negro girl 
of Oklahoma, whose income is $112,000 a year, her share 
of oil wells operated on her allotment. Winham Bros., of 
Birmingham, Ala., general contractors, handle contracts 
aggregating $250,000.00 a year. A, F. Herndon, of At- 
lanta, Ga., is a wealthy Negro, who for over thirty years 
has owned and operated the finest barber shop in the city, 
and is President of the Atlanta Mutual Life Insurance 
Co., employing several hundred persons and doing business 
amounting to a quarter of a million dollars a year. Alex- 
ander D. Hamilton, of Atlanta, is a very reliable contractor 
in the city who built the residence of the author, and has 
the confidence of both races. 



The Black Man's Burden 89 

The Negro Business Directory and Commercial Guiele of 
Atlanta, is the title of a volume compiled by W. B. Mat- 
thews. It shows that the Negroes of Atlanta are conduct- 
ing more than 100 different kinds of businesses; that there 
are more than 2,000 separate places owned and controlled 
by them; that Atlanta has 40 professional men among its 
Negro population; one old line insurance company and six 
industrial insurance companies are entirely under the 
management of Negroes; they run one bank, have twelve 
drug stores, 25 Negro doctors, four dentists, 60 tailor 
shops, 83 barbers, 85 grocers, 80 hacks, 125 draymen and 
many other places of business, including bakeries, markets, 
wood and coal yards, jewelers and undertakers. It fur- 
ther shows that in educational institutions, churches and 
secret societies and fraternal sociaties for and among 
Negroes Atlanta leads the whole country. 

Twenty-two life insurance companies are owned and 
operated by Negroes, as well as banks, silk factories, de- 
partment stores, and other forms of business and industry. 

Educational. 

Illiteracy has decreased from 95 per cent, to 30 per 
cent, among Negroes. Their colleges and normal schools 
number 500. Their students in the public schools are 
1,700,000, and their teachers 35,000. Their school prop- 
erty for higher education is valued at $20,000,000; while 
the expenditures for their education amount to $13,600,000, 
of which amount they themselves raise $1,500,000. 

Religious. 

Their churches number 40,000; communicants, 4,300,000; 
Sabbath schools, 41,000; Sabbath school pupils, 2,200,000; 
and the value of their church property is $70,000,000. 

Population. 

The present population of the globe is estimated at nearly 
1,600,000,000, of whom 703,000,000 are yellow, 560,000,000 



90 The Task That Challenges 

white, and 258,112,000 are black. Ten million of the 
latter are now in the United States, being 10 per cent, of 
our entire population. These are probably the most 
fortunately located of all the black people of the earth. 

Negro Characteristics. 

It must be admitted that an appreciable percentage of 
the race has developed traits of character, that for in- 
tegrity, fidelity and morality cannot be excelled by any 
people ; and w r hat is herein said of the general characteristics 
of the Negro has no reference to the individuals who have 
compelled meritorious recognition in spite of their heredity 
and environment. Our sympathetic attitude towards a 
dependent and inferior race, however, should not permit 
the sacrifice of truth in the interests of charity and senti- 
ment. 

Improvidence. 

As a race they are notoriously improvident for the 
future, and wasteful without regard to consequences. They 
literally "take no thought for the morrow." If they have 
a supply of food for to-day, they are utterly unconcerned 
for the next meal. Comparatively few have ambition 
to own a home or start a bank account. Wages may not 
be high, but work is plentiful, and having the bare necessi- 
ties of life, they are the happiest people on earth, though 
as a matter of fact, they have perhaps better and more 
abundant food than the peasantry of most European and 
Oriental countries. 

Indolence. 

The Negro is naturally lazy and will do only just suffi- 
cient work to supply present bodily needs. They must be 
driven by necessity or compelled by a master. They are 
capable of enduring hard work and are patient under 
heavy burdens; but their malingering method of handling 



The Black Man's Burden 91 

their task will wear threadbare the patience of their em- 
ployers. Very few have sufficient pride of character to 
turn out well finished work. The majority will calculate 
the very least amount of exertion necessary to render their 
work merely passable. 

Indulgence. 

Lack of self-control permits indulgence in whatever ex- 
cess tempts his appetite or passion. The gratification of 
the present moment outweighs all considerations of future 
rewards. He has no greater resisting power than a child 
in time of temptation. A Christian physician estimates 
that fully 98 per cent, of Negro men are impure. He falls 
victim to whiskey, tobacco or cocaine, according to which 
has once fired his appetite for gratification. Even his 
very religion is largely an indulgence of his highly emotional 
nature, in which he may be wrought up to the very highest 
pitch of frenzied feeling, and yet be lacking absolutely in 
ethical character. 

Balancing the Account. 

To these sad defects of character might be added a long 
list of racial faults, dishonesty, cruelty, fighting and super- 
stition; but to his credit, fairness cheerfully compels the 
admission that he has many redeeming qualities. He is 
generous to a fault. His last loaf is willingly shared with 
any unfortunate individual who needs his hospitality. 
His church dues will frequently supersede the needs of his 
family. In anger he may unmercifully beat wife or chil- 
dren or domestic animal, and yet in his better moods he 
cannot be surpassed in kindness. He may be utterly un- 
reliable in his work or his promised word, and yet he is 
capable of fidelity to a trust or to a member of his former 
master's family that is the puzzle of the psychologist. His 
vices^and his virtues, paradoxical as it may seem, are often 
closely related. 



92 The Task That Challenges 

Possibilities of Character. 

Not a few Negroes have risen by virtue of inherent ability, 
industrious toil, or persevering effort, to illustrious fame. 
Booker T. Washington, of Tuskegee, Ala., was one of the 
foremost educators of this country, a benefactor of his 
race, and one of the finest speakers of America. Wm. H. 
Sheppard, missionary to the Congo, by his pioneer explora- 
tions in the Dark Continent, won for himself membership 
in the Royal Geographical Society of England. Major 
Moton, of Hampton Institute, now successor to Booker 
T. Washington, and R. R. Wright, Savannah, Ga., have 
attained preeminence as teachers of their race. Paul 
Lawrence Dunbar has made himself immortal in poems 
that will rank with the best thought of America. Lack of 
space permits only one or two specimens: 

SLOW THROUGH THE DARK. 
"Slow moves the pageant of a climbing race; 
Their footsteps drag far, far below the height, 
And, unprevailing by their utmost might, 
Seem faltering downward from each high won place. 
No strange, swift-sprung exception we; we trace 
A devious way thro' dim, uncertain light — 
Our hope, through the long-vistaed years, a sight 
Of that our Captain's soul sees face to face. 

Who, faithless, faltering that the road is steep, 
Now raiseth up his drear, insistent cry? 

Who stoppeth here to spend a while in sleep, 
Or curses that the storm obscures the sky? , 

Heed not the darkness round you, dull and deep ; 
The clouds grown thickest when the summit's high." 



RIGHT'S SECURITY, 

"Right arms and armors, too, that man 
Who will not compromise with wrong; 
Though single, he must front the throng, 
And wage the battle hard and long. 
Minorities, since time began, 
Have shown the better side of mari ; 
And often in the lists of time 
One man has made a cause sublime!" 



The Black Man's Burden 93 

RELIGION. 

"I am no priest of crooks nor creeds, 
For human wants and human needs 
Are more to me than prophets' deeds; 
And human tears and human cares 
Affect me more than human prayers. 

"Go, cease your wail, lugubrious saint! 
You fret high heaven with your plaint. 
Is this the 'Christian's joy' you paint? 
Is this the Christian's boasted bliss? 
Avails your faith no more than this? 

"Take up your arms, come out with me, 
Let heav'n alone; humanity 
Needs more, and heaven less from thee. 
With pity for mankind look 'round; 
Help them to rise — and heaven is found!" 

Other Negroes unknown to fame have yet attained 
nobility of character which deserves honorable recognition. 

In Oconee County, S. C, a Negro set aside a portion of 
his land for a church, cut the lumber from his own forests, 
built and painted the church with his own hands, where it 
still stands, a monument to his character. In the same 
community was a white congregation without house of 
worship. An elder assembled the membership and said : 
"If one Negro man built a church unaided, why can't 
nineteen white men build?" And they did. The author, 
who dedicated the white church, alluded to the case as 
"Two churches which a Negro built; one by his hands and 
the other by his influence." 

Charles Birthright, of Missouri, born a slave, by fru- 
gality, industry, ,and wise investments after the war, ac- 
cumulated a fortune, and dying recently willed his estate, 
valued at $50,000, to the Presbyterian Church U. S., for 
educating a colored ministry. 

The will of J. O. Connolly, of Atlanta, a retired Negro 
grocery man and a citizen highly respected by both races, 



94 The Task That Challenges 

was probated quite recently in the ordinary's office, 
when it was found to be a document of much interest. 
By industry and sobriety Connolly had saved almost $13,- 
000 in cash and several parcels of real estate. 

While his widow and two daughters share the bulk ot 
the estate, a number of bequests are made and directions 
are given concerning some few wishes. The will directs 
that the lot at Old Wheat and Howell streets be reserved 
for an apartment house or a sanitarium. Money was left 
for the erection of two public drinking fountains, one at 
Houston and Courtland streets and the other in front of 
the Big Bethel Church. 

In some respects the most remarkable work being done 
is through the agency of the Sam Daily Reformatory for 
colored youths at Ralph, Ala. Negro criminals in their 
"teens," instead of being sentenced to the chain gang, are 
sent to this school in the country, fifteen miles from town 
or railroad. It was begun by Sam Daily, a colored elder 
in our Church, interrupted but slightly by his death, and 
is operated by his wife, assisted by Rev. W. M. Parham, 
teacher and preacher paid by the Executive Committee. 
A Committee appointed for the purpose visited and in- 
spected the work and reported to the Executive Committee 
that it had educated over 200 Negro boys, 90 per cent, of 
whom had made good. There are thirty-six at present 
in training. The farm consists of about 500 acres of rather 
poor land, owned by Mrs. Sam Daily, on which there is a 
mortgage of $1,800, which is being slowly reduced each 
year. The buildings, dormitory, barn and church are of 
the rudest kind, giving the poorest accommodations, and 
the boys were ragged beyond description, but good char- 
acters were being formed by the training received and many 
were being saved by the evangelistic work done. 

The Environments of the Negro. 

The average Negro home is uncomfortable, unhealthy, 
and anything but conducive to morality. Large families 



The Black Man 's Burden 95 

frequently occupy a one-room cabin, where they cook, eat 
and sleep, without being able to preserve even the decencies 
of life. Such surroundings necessarily have an influence 
on character. Flies swarm over their food and insects 
infest their wretched quarters. Disease preys upon them 
and carries myriads of their children to untimely graves. 
"None of us liveth unto himself, and no man dieth unto 
himself," has special verification in his case. If we doom 
him to the haunts of typhoid fever and tuberculosis, he 
will not alone suffer. The law of compensation will get 
in its inevitable work, and he will spread the germs of dis- 
ease in the most elegant homes of the city. The cook, 
the butler, and the laundry woman will not take special 
pains to confine their troubles to their own abode. 

The North preaches social equality and miscegenation 
to the South, and loves the Negro at long range. The 
following story will illustrate the different attitudes of 
North and South towards the Negro. A colored man in 
Boston, out of work and in distress, begged from door to 
door, only to receive the same answer, "Sorry, Mister, but 
we can't help you." At last, knocking at a door and ask- 
ing for food, a man exclaimed: "You black rascal, what do 
you mean by coming to the front door? Go to the back 
door and tell the cook to feed you." Falling upon his 
knees, he cried, "Thank God, I've found my own folks at 
last; dey scolds me at the front, but dey feeds me in de 
kitchen." 

In the South, a white man and a Negro will work side 
by side on the same wall, on the friendliest terms; but if 
the Negro goes North, he is driven out by Trades Unions, 
or ostracized by competitors. One man tried the experi- 
ment, and as he hastily retreated Southward, an acquaint- 
ance inquired the reason for his haste. To which he re- 
plied: "Bless God, if I'se got to be lynched, I wants to be 
lynched by my friends." 



96 The Task That Challenges 

The Negro Problem. 

Politician, philosopher, statesman and churchman have 
racked their brain and vexed their soul over the solution of 
the Negro Problem — in vain. It seems to grow more com- 
plicated. The visionary fanatic of the North, the educated, 
embittered Negro himself, and the noisy demagogue of the 
South, have intensified the situation by driving farther 
apart the good Negro and the best type of Southern white 
man. Legislation has utterly failed. Segregation has 
been considered and pronounced impossible. Education 
is absolutely inadequate. Miscegenation is repulsive and 
illegal. Christianity has never been tried, except in a very 
feeble way. 

Booker T. Washington, by his industrial training; former 
Governor W. J. Northen, by his Christian philanthropy; 
Dr. W. D. Weatherford, by his sympathetic teaching, and 
Rev. John Little, by loving ministrations, are rendering 
both races valuable service, and perhaps as pioneers are 
leading the way. 

The Obligation of the North. 

The Negro is an immigrant, but not an emigrant. He 
did not come to America of his own accord. New England 
is largely responsible for his presence among us. By a 
three-cornered trade in which molasses was imported from 
the West Indies to Boston, converted into rum, and traded 
for Negroes in Africa, who were sold to the West Indies 
and the South, the curse of slavery was foisted on our 
unfortunate country. This entails tremendous responsi- 
bility on those who imported him, to make amends for 
their wrong. 

The North is also responsible for his changed relations 
and conditions, which may be reckoned as a partial effort 
to undo the damage; but which also involves added re- 
sponsibility. The two best known Negro characters in 
"Uncle Tom's Cabin" are Uncle Tom, the hero, and Topsy. 



The Black Man's Burden 97 

Uncle Tom, the pious, faithful servant, the product and the 
victim of slavery, is a type forever gone. A Northern 
overseer killed him, and Northern armies ended the institu- 
tion which trained and developed such noble characters. 
"Topsy," the neglected Negro girl who "just growed," 
is still with us, not singly, but by the thousands. Abolition 
emancipated the Uncle Toms, but has devised no remedy for 
the Topsies who are increasingly in evidence among us. 
Emancipation has produced some good business men, 
developed some splendid Negro characters, better educated 
and equipped, but none more saintly than Uncle Tom. 
Emancipation is dumb with silence, and impotent as a 
means of abolishing the Topsies. To the kindly care and 
sympathetic help of the Christian women throughout the 
nation, Topsy is most tenderly commended. 

To its credit be it said, the North responded nobly to 
the call of the Negro in the South, and has expended millions 
in educating and evangelizing him, but does not seem great- 
ly concerned for the Negro in the North. The tendency 
is to aid him by long distance applications. England sent 
missionaries to the Negro in the United States during 
Colonial days. The North sends missionaries and teachers 
to the South, and the latter sends missionaries — to Africa 

The Obligation of the South. 

This is no suggestion of shifting responsibility to North- 
ern shoulders. Lay it on them as heavily as possible, and 
still the greater responsibility will always remain with us 
of the South, by many considerations. 

His Fidelity in the Past. 

Who tilled our fields; and by the sweat of whose brow 
have we been made rich? Whose gentle arms were our 
cradle once; and by whose guiding hands were our infant 
feet trained and protected in our first tottering steps? 
In whose guardian care were mothers and their helpless 



98 The Task That Challenges 

children left in those awful days of fratricidal war? When 
our fathers fell on the field of battle, who mingled their 
tears with ours and swore new allegiance to their widows 
and orphans? Who ever heard of a Negro betraying his 
sacred trust in that dark period, which still in memory 
hangs like a pall over our hearts? 

At Our Own Door. 

In the providence of God, he is the poor we have always 
with us. He is the Lazarus lying at our gate. In the 
parable of Jesus, not a suggestion is hinted of any accusa- 
tion against the moral character of Dives. His was large- 
ly a sin of omission — just simply indifference to human 
need. In all that region there were thousands of others 
just as needy as Lazarus, and yet in eternity when he lifted 
up his eyes, he beheld none of these. Only Lazarus 
haunted him, and the thought of his case "tormented" 
him. It is the man next to us that constitutes our first 
and chief responsibility. 

Mr. John Randolph, riding through Virginia, stopped for 
entertainment in a home where a company of ladies were 
engaged in making garments, explaining to their distin- 
guished guest that they were making garments for the 
Greeks in their struggle for liberty. Mr. Randolph pointed 
to some ragged Negro children in the yard, and exclaimed: 
"Ladies, the Greeks are at your own door." Ministering 
to the Negro on the Congo in Africa meets a recognized 
obligation, but does not discharge the debt to the Negro 
on the Congaree in Carolina. 

For Our Own Sake. 

Every deed of kindness performed and every duty 
avoided has a reflex influence on the person himself. Either 
we must help the Negro up or he will drag us down. Booker 
T. Washington said very pertinently: "No man can hold 
another down in the gutter, except by keeping himself 



The Black Man's Burden 99 

down with him." The treatment of an inferior is not only 
the test of character, but it is the development or the 
dwarfing of manhood. 

For His Own Sake. 

Statistics showing the growing wealth, advancing edu- 
cation and increasing church membership are indications 
of Negro progress for which we are profoundly grateful; 
and yet there is another side to the picture. Negro pro- 
gress is confined to a comparatively small per cent. The 
dire need, the moral degradation, the spiritual destitution, 
like the tentacles of some gigantic monster, embrace and 
strangle the great masses. In the slums of our crowded 
cities, in the miserable dives of wickedness, in the wretched 
shanties which cannot be dignified by the name of home, 
in the lonely cabin in the woods, these people are living 
debauched lives and dying as hopeless of the mercy of God 
as if they were with their kindred in the Dark Continent. 
Many will be able to complain justly, "No man cared for 
my soul." 

For Christ's Sake. 

Prof. DuBois, an educated Negro, wrote some painful 
truth doubtless in the "Souls of Black Folks," which might 
have made a profound impression, if he had not dipped his 
pen in gall and vented his spleen in bitter thoughts of his 
white brethren. The souls of Black Folks are as precious to 
Christ as the souls of the fairest Caucasian. The Negro is the 
man for whom Christ died. As the shepherd left the ninety 
and nine in the wilderness and went after the sheep that 
was lost, and as the woman with lighted candle searched 
amid rubbish and filth for the missing coin, so the Church 
with the lighted candle of God's Word, through the haunts 
of wickedness, should search for the lost soul of the poorest 
and most wretched Negro, which by the power of divine 
grace can be transformed into a diadem for the casket of 



100 The Task That Challenges 

Heaven. Is the spirit of Christ among men in the Church 
to-day? 

Negro Religious Life. 

The Negro is intense in his religion. It fills the largest 
part of his life, but his religion is of the emotional type, 
almost entirely divorced from morality. During slavery, 
his master, under the weight of responsibility for the souls 
of his servants, enforced outward conformity to the moral 
law and compelled attendance upon the services of the 
sanctuary. Master and servant belonged to the same 
church and enjoyed the instructions of the same minister, 
and sat at the same communion table. 

At the meeting of the General Assembly of the Presby- 
terian Church in Lexington, Ky., 1858, Rev. Jno. B. 
Adger, owner of a large number of slaves, made a liberal 
offering to Foreign Missions, as an expression of his thank- 
fulness for the conversion of many of his slaves. Sabbath 
afternoons on many a plantation were occupied by the 
mistress gathering the younger Negroes around her, read- 
ing to them the Scriptures and teaching them the cate- 
chisms and familiar hymns. As the result, there was an 
increasing number of godly and devout Christians among 
the Negroes of the South. With freedom came liberty of 
choice, and most of them, led by those ambitious to be 
preachers, broke away from their old associations and seg- 
regated themselves in colored congregations with Negro 
officers and ministers. In some instances it was the blind 
leading the blind. Many of their preachers were notorious- 
ly immoral and sensual. They have to-day a larger per- 
centage of church membership in proportion to numbers 
than white people. Undoubtedly many of them are 
Christian. Many of their preachers are worthy men, the 
equal of their white brethren in eloquence and ability to 
expound the Word of God. 



The Black Man's Burden 101 

The sad admission must be made, however, that the 
masses are destitute of the principles of Christian char- 
acter. As a class, their preachers have great influence, 
but not the confidence of their better element. Atlanta 
University made the experiment of inquiring of two hun- 
dred leading colored laymen their opinion of the char- 
acter of the Negro ministry. Only thirty-seven gave their 
approval. The others refused to give a vote of confidence. 
Much of their preaching is emotional, as they work them- 
selves and their susceptible people into a hysteria of ex- 
citement which both parties mistake for religion. The 
wildest excitement prevails, shouting and shrieking which 
terminates frequently in exhaustion and unconsciousness, 
resembling a religious trance. The futility and spurious 
character of it are evident from the fact that it has no in- 
fluence for righteousness over their life and conduct. 
All this constitutes a ground for genuine missionary effort 
in their behalf by Christian workers, and a reason for 
giving them an educated and godly ministry of their own 
race to instruct in righteousness and to teach by example. 

Presbyterian Ministrations. 

The Methodist and Baptist churches for obvious reasons 
have been most successful of all denominations in reaching 
Negroes; but the Presbyterians have rendered splendid 
service in their behalf and have a smaller but better trained 
constituency. As early as 1816, the Presbyterian Church 
appointed Dr. Rice, of Virginia, as missionary to the 
Negroes. Rev. Samuel Davies, of Virginia; Reverends 
Stiles and Jones, of Georgia; and Reverends Adger, Flinn 
Dickson and Girardeau, of South Carolina, being among 
the ablest ministers of the Church, devoted a large part of 
their ministry exclusively to the Negroes. 

Rev. Charles A. Stillman, of Alabama, founded a theo- 
logical school for them at Tuscaloosa, which is still ful- 
filling its benevolent mission of training a colored ministry, 



102 



The Task That Challenges 

Constructive Work 
among the negroes 




Stillman Institute. 




The Chapel at the Sam Daily School — Instead of the Penitentiary. 



The Black Man's Burden 103 

although it has graduated more of the other denomina- 
tions than Presbyterians. 

Present Statistics. 

The Presbyterian Church numbers about 50,000 com- 
municants among them, most of whom belong to the 
Northern Church and the Independent Colored Cumber- 
land. Attached to the Southern Church are 33 ministers, 
70 churches, and 2,700 communicants, 235 being added 
during 1914, the last report available. 

Ecclesiastical Errors. 

In attempting after the war to adjust its work, to the 
new order, it was to be expected that mistakes would be 
made in ecclesiastical circles. The Northern branch of the 
Presbyterian Church attempted mixed Presbyteries and 
Synods. This was foredoomed to failure; and the white 
ministers gradually refrained from attending the Colored 
Synod of Catawba. Provision has since been made for 
separate ecclesiastical courts. 

The Southern branch of the Church made an equally 
fundamental mistake by attempting to promote an Inde- 
pendent Afro-American Presbyterian Church, based upon 
the success of the Baptists and Methodists along that line 
of procedure. This plan failed by being too premature, 
as it lacked competent leadership, and the ministers and 
churches were too isolated for mutual counsel and assist- 
ance. 

Possibly the best solution for the present is the Colored 
Synod, erected in 1916, as a constituent part of the Gen- 
eral Assembly, and sustaining the same relation as other 
Synods, with its Presbyteries represented in the Assembly. 

The advantages in its favor are: 1. It avoids race pre- 
judices; 2. Develops self-government and initiative by 
throwing colored ministers upon their own responsibility 
in some of their meetings, without being restrained and 



104 The Task That Challenges 

embarrassed by the presence of white ministers; 3. Culti- 
vates sympathy between the races, by the white furnish- 
ing financial assistance to their colored brethren; 4. Ele- 
vates their ideals by having their leadership meet in the 
General Assembly with their white brethren, on an equal 
ecclesiastical footing. 

Methods of Christian Service. 

In addition to financial assistance, many Christian people 
are burdened with a sense of responsibility, in view of the 
dire need of the Negro race and its spiritual destitution. 
They seem to hear God's voice inquiring, "Where is thy 
brother?" And conscience raises the question, "Am I my 
brother's keeper?" The command, "Thou shalt love thy 
neighbor as thyself," is constraining many to volunteer 
for Christian service. Still the serious question arises, in 
what practical work can love manifest itself to the best ad- 
vantage by the investment of personal service in behalf of 
the needy Negro? The answer must be left largely to the 
Christian conscience to follow the leadings of providence, 
by regarding opportunity as the call of God. One sug- 
gestion perhaps will serve to point the way. 

Colored Sabbath Schools. 

In many places Sabbath Schools have been organized 
for colored children, taught exclusively by white people. 
Those volunteering for such service are following the foot- 
steps of such illustrious examples as Stonewall Jackson and 
Robert E. Lee. The author personally conducted a Sab- 
bath school for colored children during his pastorate at 
Macon, Ga., until the work was interrupted by his election 
as Secretary of Home Missions. The most successful 
efforts of this character have been at Atlanta, Ga., Rich- 
mond, Va., Thomasville, Ga., and preeminently Louis- 
ville, Ky., which deserves more than a passing mention. 



The Black Man's Burden 105 

Louisville Colored Mission. 

Rev. John Little stands out preeminently as one who 
has definitely volunteered for life service among col- 
ored people. He is the pioneer and the apostle of Negro 
Institutional Work, and gives this account of its origin: 

"The work of the Presbyterian Colored Missions has 
been an effort on the part of the people of Louisville to 
give to the Negroes of that community industrial training, 
and instruction in religious truth. Its founders had no 
theory to put into practice, but rather sought to minister 
to the needs of the people as these needs appeared. In 
the seventeen years that this work has been carried on, it 
has grown from a small Sunday school with six white 
teachers and twenty-three colored pupils to two large in- 
stitutional churches with thirteen hundred and twenty- 
one colored people attending its clubs, classes and ser- 
vices, which are carried on under the direction of eighty- 
seven white teachers and instructors, in two buildings, open 
seven days in the week. 

Industrial Features. 

"The first step was to organize a Sunday school where 
colored children would come for instruction by white teach- 
ers. Two colored girls asked for a sewing class, and the 
teachers at once saw that this was a needed supplement 
to the Sunday school. The boys, seeing the girls with 
extra classes, made application, and a class in basketry 
was organized for them. This later developed into a car- 
penter's shop. A cooking school was the next addition 
to the scheduled work, and has proved the most popular 
part of our course of instruction. A bath-house with five 
showers and two tubs is serving an increasing number. 
Later boys' and girls' clubs were organized, in which various 
lines of work have been undertaken for their moral improve- 
ment. During the summer months, playgrounds have 



106 The Task That Challenges 

been operated, and in them hundreds of children have been 
made healthier and happier. A moving picture machine 
provides wholesome recreation for a community destitute 
of such privileges. From the first, the teachers visited 
the pupils regularly in their homes. The study of these 
homes and the condition of the people led us to call to our 
assistance able physicians and surgeons, and they have 
proved to be some of our most valuable helpers. 

Permanent Enlargement. 

"For the past two years, no new line of work has been 
undertaken, but there has been a steady, gradual enlarge- 
ment of the departments mentioned, because each year a 
larger number have sought admission in these clubs and 
classes. 

"For twelve years the work was conducted in two old 
dilapidated store rooms which were rented for the purpose. 
A few years ago the committee in charge purchased two 
substantial brick buildings, well lighted and well ventilated, 
and in every way suitable for the work. These buildings 
increased the confidence of the colored people in our desire 
to help them, and since the purchase of this property the 
work has increased in the numbers reached and in efficiency 
of the service rendered. 

Healing the Sick. 

"There has been a remarkable increase in the past few 
years in the number of our pupils who have received treat- 
ment at the hands of our best physicians and surgeons. 
Literally hundreds who have been suffering with diseases 
of the eyes have been treated and practically every one 
cured. Many with defective vision have been fitted with 
glasses, and in most instances the pupils themselves have 
paid for these glasses. In two instances we found girls 
in the sewing school who had lost one eye and were uncon- 
scious of their loss. The specialists who treated them told 



The Black Man's Burden 107 

us had their cases been neglected longer it would have re- 
sulted in total blindness. One of these girls to-day stands 
at the head of our sewing school. A number of wonderful 
and successful surgical operations have been performed. 
The results of these operations have not been the physical 
relief alone, but it has also given us new spiritual power. 
Many who have been treated by the physicians have later 
united with the church, and in one or two instances the 
parents of children thus treated have also been brought 
into the church. 

Consecrated Workers. 

"The most remarkable thing in connection with the whole 
work is the fact that white people of this community have 
volunteered as teachers. One by one, men and women 
from Presbyterian and other Evangelical Churches in the 
city have volunteered their services. Our sewing classes 
and cooking classes are taught by white women who have 
volunteered as instructors. Many of these people rarely 
see each other, because they come on different days, 
but their hearts and services are united in their ministry 
to needy people. A nobler group could not be found in 
the whole land than our group of eighty-seven consecrated 
men and women who are cheerfully donating their services. 

Special Points of Interest. 

"(1) It is a local work done according to the ideas of the 
people of Louisville. Many institutions for Negroes have 
failed to attain the highest standard of usefulness because 
they have not the endorsement of the community in which 
they have been established, but are maintained according 
to the ideas of a Board which resides in some distant state. 
The policy of this work is determined by the teachers who 
are residents in Louisville, and it is conducted in such a 
way as not to offend the white people. 



108 The Task That Challenges 

"(2) It is supported largely by money contributed in 
Louisville. The most perplexing question in regard to the 
whole work is its financial support. At no period in its 
history has there been in the treasury a sufficient sum to 
pay one month's expenses. The Presbyterian churches 
in Louisville have, from time to time, taken collections, but 
the total amount received from churches is only a small part 
of the amount necessary for its maintenance. Most of the 
money comes from individuals, and the larger part of it 
in very small sums. Several individuals contribute five 
cents a month. Occasionally a gift comes from another 
state and brings with it an inspiration which is always 
as valuable as the gift itself. The official Boards of the 
Northern and Southern Presbyterian and the German Re- 
formed Churches make small annual appropriations. 

"(3) It has been clearly demonstrated that our industrial 
work, our clubs and playgrounds have a strong spiritual 
influence. The first member to come forward to apply 
for baptism and admission to the church came from a class 
in cooking. In this cooking class I saw the sterling char- 
acter of this girl and saw an opportunity to speak to her of 
her personal salvation. That night she came forward to 
unite with the church. Many children have drifted into 
the playground, and there have become personally ac- 
quainted with our teachers and have been led into the Sun- 
day school, into the church services, and later to the foot 
of the cross. One summer I suggested to a theological 
student that he direct our playground. He objected, say- 
ing that he thought he could do more good by visiting in 
the homes of the community and reading the Bible and 
talking to them personally. I said to him then, 'Leave the 
moral responsibility with me, and take the playground 
and use it.' At the close of the summer he was frank 
enough to admit that the playground had given him a 
wonderful influence over the pupils in the Sunday school 
and also when he preached in the church. Most of the 



The Black Man's Burden 109 

boys who have united with the church have come from our 
classes in carpentry and our boys' clubs. 

Duplicates Wanted. 

"What has been done in a number of other communities 
in the South? I am anxious to see the day when our force 
of Christian workers w411 be more zealous in their efforts 
for the salvation of the Negro, who needs our help, our 
sympathy, and our instruction. In Atlanta a similar work 
has been organized by the Central Presbyterian church. 
They have purchased a suitable building, are conducting 
a Sunday school and a sewing school, boys' and girls' 
clubs, and last summer a Vacation Bible School, where 
hundreds of colored children were given religious instruc- 
tion and industrial training. In Richmond, Virginia, 
Rev. Murray Gray organized another similar work. I saw 
a picture of his Sunday school when it started, and another 
picture six months later. In the meantime, he had visited 
in the homes, had opened a playground, organized boys' 
and girls' clubs and a sewing school. May the day soon 
come when we have these institutions established in hun- 
dreds of other cities in the South. 

"Note. — The Presbyterian Colored Missions in Louis- 
ville, Ky., are under the direction of a joint committee 
appointed by the Presbytery of Louisville, U. S. ; the Pres- 
bytery of Louisville, U. S. A.; the Kentucky Classes of the 
Reformed Church, U. S., and the Associate Reformed 
Presbyterian Church." 

God and the Negro. 

In His inscrutable providence and beneficent wisdom, 
our heavenly Father made the distinctions among men, 
and determined the bounds of their habitations. By 
creation we are all His children. No race can preempt 
to itself the Fatherhood of God. The Negro can claim this 
relationship, saying, "Doubtless thou art our Father, though 



110 The Task That Challenges 

Abraham be ignorant of us and Israel acknowledge us not." 
Why He made the black skin, and how the differentiation 
began is an enigma as puzzling as the riddle of the Sphinx. 
"Hath not the potter power over the clay?" "Shall not 
the Judge of all the earth do right?" "Judge not the Lord 
by feeble sense." "O Lord, how manifold are thy works; 
in wisdom hast thou made them all." 

God is sovereign in His ways, but not arbitrary. He has 
some deep design and some great purpose for the Negro. 
J. W. Johnson, Negro poet, in the Semi-Centennial Ode of 
Emancipation, sings courage to his dark comrades: 

"Far, far the way that we have trod, 
From heathen kraals and jungle dens. 
To freedmen, freemen, sons of God, 
Americans and citizens. 

"This land is ours by right of birth, 
This land is ours by right of toil; 
We helped to turn its virgin earth, 
Our sweat is in its fruitful soil. 

"Courage! Look out, beyond, and see 
The far horizon's beckoning span! 
Faith in your God-known destiny! 
We are a part of some great plan." 

What is to be his destiny? No prophet yet hath suffi- 
ciently keen foresight to pierce the future and give the 
slightest hint! Shall we co-operate with God in the un- 
folding of His plans? Shall we help the Negro in his un- 
fortunate handicap to work out his destiny? The Negro 
is on trial before the world's tribunal. Will he be able to 
justify himself and fulfil a noble mission? 

The white man, too, is on trial before the divine tribunal. 
Will he be able to measure up to his responsibility, accord- 
ing to the divine dictum: "For unto whomsoever much is 
given, of him shall be much required." "Inasmuch as ye 



The Black Man's Burden 111 

have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, 
ye have done it unto me." If they be Christ's brethren, 
are they ours also? Will any of us knock at the gate of 
Heaven and hear the response, "Ye shall not see my face, 
except your brother be with you"? 



VI. 

CHURCH ERECTION. 

General Scope. 

In its widest scope, Church Erection includes appropria- 
tions to assist in building houses of worship, manses, 
academies, dormitories, and mission chapels for the equip- 
ment of the work, whether by special donation, or loans 
from trust funds bequeathed by the sainted dead, or con- 
tributed by the living for the purpose. In its restricted 
sense, it has more direct reference to the erection of houses 
of worship for feeble churches in destitute or frontier 
regions. 

As early as 1888 the General Assembly created this as a 
separate department of Home Missions, and ordered a 
special collection in all the churches to aid in the erection 
of houses of worship. At a later date it consolidated this 
agency with Assembly's Home Missions, and made it one 
of the coordinate departments of the work. 

Church Building a Problem. 

The erection of a church building is the first problem 
a Home missionary is compelled to face, when volunteering 
as a pioneer for service in the frontier on the far-flung 
battle line. If he cannot stimulate the new organization 
to "arise and build" under his leadership within a reason- 
able time, his efforts in all probability are foredoomed to 
failure. It is likewise the first crisis in the life of the new 
church, and its future development will be determined 
largely by wise and courageous leadership. If the subtle 
suggestion prevails of "waiting till the church is strong 
enough to build a more creditable edifice," in all probability 
the opportunity will pass forever. To succeed in building, 
however, will not guarantee success in all other respects, 



Church Erection 1 1 3 

for there are always other breakers upon which its young 
life may he wrecked — but failure to build will most assured- 
ly circumscribe and handicap its whole prospect. 

A colony of bees cannot survive, much less make honey, 
without a hive. Each church organization must have 
"a local habitation," or else it will eventually have only 
"a name to live." The church home is a tie that binds 
an ecclesiastical family together. Many an organization 
has died simply from the lack of it, while others survived 
and grew chiefly because they had an investment which 
could not well be abandoned, and which served as a rally- 
ing point to hold the nucleus together, as well as to conserve 
new material that otherwise would have scattered. 

The growth of a new church depends, therefore, under 
the blessing of God, chiefly upon two factors: first, the ser- 
vice of an active pastor, and next upon the erection of a 
house of worship suitable to its needs. The lack of either 
factor in the critical period of its organic life is ordinarily 
fatal. Borrowing the building of a sister denomination, 
the use of a schoolhouse, or renting a public hall, are tem- 
porary expedients which may be used to advantage for a 
reasonable period, but eventually the organi r ation faces 
the question of either building or else disbanding. Years 
ago Bishop McTyeire of the Methodist Church warned his 
denomination that its homeless churches could not- afford 
to be "tenants at will," but must become freeholders in 
order to prosper. 

Mohammedanism Declining. 

It is claimed by competent investigators that Mo- 
hammedanism is dying, because it is no longer building 
additional mosques. The Editor of the London Times, a 
few years ago sent his leading correspondent to the Orient 
to study Islamism. He was to visit all their leading cities 
for five years. When this investigator returned to London 
the Lord Mayor gave him a great banquet to which the 



114 The Task That Challenges 

Lords and Peers of England were invited, together with the 
business men, professional men, and churchmen of London. 
At the banquet this reporter was asked to respond to the 
toast, "Moslemism." He began his address by saying, 
"Gentlemen, Moslemism is dying. If you want to know 
why I say this, let me tell you that in all my travels through- 
out the Orient where Moslems are most numerous, I found 
that they were building no new mosques, neither were they 
repairing their old ones. A religious body that does not 
build, dies." 

The Test of Denominational Aggressiveness. 

The ratio of church building is perhaps the best test of 
the aggressiveness and development of a denomination. 
It matters not what may have been its history or its rapid 
growth in the past, as soon as it ceases to promote church 
erection it sounds its own death knell, and it will require 
no prophetic hand to write "Ichabod" on its walls. The 
church fathers were wise in their day and generation in de- 
vising plans for encouraging church building schemes. A 
small investment of a few hundred dollars to-day will pay 
handsome dividends in the future. "Churches unassisted 
mean churches unassisting; but churches helped to-day 
mean churches helping tomorrow. Homeless churches 
mean Christless homes." 

The objection that occasionally some building is aban- 
doned, which once housed a promising organization, is 
superficial and unworthy. In the natural world not all 
the blooms of a tree come to perfection in ripened fruit. 
Not every healthy child develops into full grown manhood. 
Who can forecast the future of any new organization — 
whether promising or unpromising? God alone holds the 
future and guides the destinies of individuals and the 
growth of organizations. The individual or organization 
that hesitates at the psychological moment is lost. 

The philosophy of Solomon is as wise as it is ancient, 



Church Erection" 115 

and equally true in all ages, which is "summarily compre- 
hended" in the dictum of inspiration: "Cast thy bread 
upon the waters — for thou shalt find it after many days 
He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and 
he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap ... In 
the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold 
not thy hand. For thou knowest not whether shall pros- 
per either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike 
good." 

This truth obtains alike in the natural and in the spiritual 
realm. The Home Mission Committee builds the inex- 
pensive church to-day ; and the congregation itself will per- 
haps rear its magnificent structure in the future, becoming 
the mother of churches and contributing to the erection 
of other edifices as the years go by. It may be that occa- 
sionally church erection funds will be scattered upon barren 
soil, but in most instances it will bear fruit, "some thirty, 
some sixty, and some an hundred fold." 

Church Erection Loans. 

It is not always wise to assist a church building by dona- 
tion simply. Loans wisely bestowed will frequently yield 
better results than donations. The encouragement af- 
forded by means of a small donation, and the promise of a 
loan at a nominal rate of interest, will develop the life of 
the local church by stimulating to self-support. The strug- 
gle to pay a church loan is frequently a blessing in disguise. 
The gift of a handsome new building would be a curse to 
many a community. A loan both encourages and holds 
before it a goal in the form of freeing itself from debt, 
which is often the very making of the church. 

The wisdom and benefits of a Loan Fund are recognized 
by all the larger denominations. The Building Fund of 
the Presbyterian Church, U. S. A., exceeds five million 
dollars, which enables that branch of the Presbyterian 
Church to enter and take possession of any strategic point. 



116 The Task That Challenges 

in the interests of the Kingdom of Christ and in the prose- 
cution of its denominational plans. The Congregational 
Church has accumulated $4,600,000. The German Re- 
formed Church has a Building and Loan Fund of $500,000, 
consisting largely of " Memorials." The Dutch Reformed 
has accumulated a similar fund of $130,000. The Dis- 
ciples have a Permanent Loan Fund of $1,800,000; The 
Lutheran, $1,600,000; the Protestant Episcopal, $800,000; 
the Northern Methodists, $11,000,000; the Southern Meth- 
odists have expended $3,700,000 in building, and possess 
a permanent fund for the purpose amounting, as a working 
capital, to $804,629. The Southern Baptists have only 
within the past few years inaugurated a movement for 
acquiring a Building Fund of $1,000,000, and under the 
efficient leadership of their Secretary, Rev. L. B. Warren, 
have already secured $160,000 and are reasonably sure of 
their final goal. 

Presbyterian Church, U. S. 

In striking contrast, our own Church has but an in- 
significant fund, aggregating less than $30,000, which places 
it at great disadvantage in occupying strategic centers 
where church buildings are absolutely necessary, and yet 
where we are largely overshadowed and completely out- 
classed in generous rivalry with others. Small, however, 
as are our funds for church erection, under careful manage- 
ment they have accomplished such marvelous things . as 
to read like a romance; and we are not ashamed to com- 
pare records as to results with any, in proportion to capital 
invested. 

The Moore Loan Fund. 

Twenty-three years ago Mr. W. A. Moore, an honored 
elder in the First Presbyterian church of Atlanta, and for 
years a valued member of the Executive Committee of 
Home Missions, left a legacy of $5,000 to be loaned in 



Church Erection 117 

small sums at 3 per cent, interest, for the purpose of assist- 
ing feeble churches in building houses of worship. During 
this period it has aided 80 churches in building, and has 
been so carefully managed that not a dollar has been lost, 
but instead the principal has slowly increased until the fund 
is now valued at $6,000. If each church aided averaged 
$2,500 in value, it has promoted during these years the 
erection of church buildings whose united property aggre- 
gates at least $200,000. The end is not yet, for its useful- 
ness increases with age. If this $5,000 fund has promoted 
in 23 years the erection of 80 churches, how many will it 
likewise bless by the time its centennial is celebrated! 
What a noble monument honors his blessed memory! 
"He builded better than he knew." His true monument 
is not the stone that marks the resting place of his sacred 
dust among the dead, but these 80 churches among the 
living, scattered throughout our bounds from Maryland 
to New Mexico. 

The Manse Building Fund. 

This illustrious example suggested the advisability of 
accumulating a similar fund to assist weak congregations 
in securing manses for their pastors. An appeal was 
accordingly made to a few friends, which resulted in raising 
$4,200. In the past ten years this fund has aided in build- 
ing 30 manses and has increased in value to $5,000. Esti- 
mating the average value of each manse at $3,000, it repre- 
sents property to-day in the service of the Church worth 
at least $90,000. It is like bread cast upon the waters, 
which is continually returning to become a blessing to new 
communities. Like radium which continually gives off 
its beneficent influences without loss, to itself, so this fund 
will go on forever, blessing others without diminishing 
the original amount. The possession of a manse has been 
the determining factor in many cases that enabled a weak 
church to obtain and hold the services of a pastor. Genera- 



118 The Task That Challenges 

tions yet unborn will be blessed through the instrumentality 
of this splendid beneficence. 

Semi- Centennial Building Fund. 

On December 4, 1911, the Presbyterian Church, U. S. 
reached the fiftieth anniversary of its separate existence. 
From 43 Presbyteries, 1,000 churches and 75,000 com- 
municants, it has increased during these fifty years to 87 
Presbyteries, 1,725 ministers, 3,375 churches and 300,000 
communicants. In the half century of its corporate life, 
it has contributed in round numbers $6,000,000 each to 
Home and Foreign Missions. Its annual contributions 
to all purposes reached the sum of $4,000,000 in 1911. 
which still further increased during the past six years, 
amounting now to $5,000,000 annually. Its Home Mis- 
sion operations are now co-extensive with its 17 Synods, 
and its Foreign Mission Work extends to sections of four 
continents, the annual income for these two causes alone 
amounting to $1,000,000. 

In order to commemorate in a worthy and substantial 
way the semi-centennial and growth of the Church, the 
Presbytery of Montgomery, in the Synod of Virginia, over- 
tured the General Assembly to raise a Semi-Centennial 
Building and Loan Fund of $100,000. The Assembly 
heartily and unanimously approved, and authorized the 
Executive Committee of Home Missions to conduct a 
campaign for this purpose. During the six years which 
have elapsed since that time, notwithstanding various and 
unexpected obstacles, about $20,000 have been paid in 
and have already started on a career of church building. 
Subscriptions and legacies not yet available approximate 
$25,000, while one generous giver promises $10,000 as soon 
as the task is completed, which is now nearly half accom- 
plished. In the meantime the urgency of the need is evi- 
dent from the fact that applications for loans now on file 
in the Home Mission office aggregate $100,000. 



Church Erection 119 

Safeguards. 

In order to protect the Church against loss, the follow- 
ing safeguards adopted by the General Assembly have been 
thrown around these Trust Funds, so that it becomes al- 
most impossible for any part to be ever entirely lost. 

"Ordinarily no grant or loan for church erection shall be 
made to any congregation unless such congregation own 
in fee simple, and free from all encumbrance, the lot on 
which their house of worship is situated, or on which they 
propose to build; provided, however, that in case a church 
is building upon leased property, the Committee, at it 
discretion in extraordinary cases, may make such grant or 
loan, taking such precautions by the way of security or 
otherwise as will protect the Church therein. 

"The appropriation, whether grant or loan, is subject to 
the following conditions, to-wit: That in case the church or 
congregation shall cease to be connected with the General 
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, 
or their house of worship be alienated, except for the build- 
ing or purchase of a better house of worship, they shall re- 
fund to the Committee the amount they have so received. 

"When the appropriation is a loan (then unless other 
satisfactory security be accepted) a mortgage upon the 
church property, duly executed and acknowledged by the 
church, through their legally appointed representatives, 
and recorded in the county clerk's or recorder's office, shall 
be returned to the Committee with a certificate endorsed 
thereon by an attorney at law, designated by the Presby- 
tery or its Home Mission Committee, to the effect that the 
church has a valid title to the property and full power to 
mortgage the same, and that said mortgage is a first lien 
upon said property, and has been executed, acknowledged 
and recorded, according to law." 



120 The Task That Challenges 

Memorial Funds. 

In order to encourage the completion of the Semi- 
centennial Fund, as well as to perpetuate the memory of 
good deeds, the Executive Committee of Home Missions 
consented to allow any donor contributing as much as $500 
the privilege of naming a "Memorial Fund." The musk 
bean, which is said to be the basis of most perfumes, will 
exhale its pungent odor for a century, and yet is never 
diminished. In like manner the fragrance of a noble deed 
will perpetuate itself forever. 

Christ himself approved of perpetuating the memory of 
a good deed. Of the woman who anointed him with the 
precious spikenard, he said: "Wheresoever this Gospel shall 
be preached throughout the whole world, this also that 
she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her." 
Hers is a monument more precious than diamond, more 
enduring than brass, as imperishable as the everlasting 
Gospel. The Parthenon at Athens is destroyed, the Coli- 
seum at Rome is in ruins, the Alhambra in Spain is 
crumbling, but the monument of this woman will stand 
when the Pyramids of Egypt are scattered by the winds of 
the desert. 

Worthy Ambition. 

The Board of Church Erection of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church, South, in eloquent language pleads the value 
of Memorial Loan Funds: 

"Next to the longing for immortality, which God Him- 
self has planted in every human breast, is a desire to per- 
petuate our own names or the names of those we love and 
honor. The pyramids of Egypt; the statues, arches and 
columns of Rome; the splendid temples of Greece; the in- 
comparable mausoleums of India, all testify to the strength 
and universality of this desire. But the efforts of men to 
defy the universal law of decay and forgetfulness have 



Church Erection' 121 

been in vain. Memorials of stone and brass enter upon a 
career of disintegration from the moment they are finished 
and set up. Wind and rain, the changing seasons, earth- 
quakes and storms, fire and vandal hands are the common 
enemies of all. The most sanguine builder of monuments 
has never yet produced a memorial, which would either 
withstand the ravages of time, or increase in strength and 
beauty as the years go by. Preservation is all that is 
ever hoped for, and that only with unremitting care and 
attention on the part of the generations following, and even 
then but in a partial sense. 

"It is the distinction and glory of our Memorial Loan 
Funds that they are strong at every point where other 
monuments are weak. Here is something of a material 
nature, that has in it the quality of life. It is a perpetual 
source of benefaction, an active, perpetual and perpetuating 
force for good of the very highest type. The Loan Fund 
goes forth on errands of mercy and helpfulness, to serve 
mankind in such a way as to bring humanity into com- 
munion with God arid our Saviour, and returns with in- 
creased power for usefulness. 

"The activity and usefulness of these funds are beauti- 
fully illustrated by Bishop H. C. Morrison: 'It never wearies 
in well doing. Ever giving, yet never exhausted; toiling 
ever, yet never tired; a sort of everlasting benediction; an 
immortal Good Samaritan, with wine and oil and bandages 
for the bleeding and helpless churches of the land. Going 
to the West, it fortifies a point; returning to the East, it 
repairs a breach in the wall. It leaves joy and gladness 
in its pathway. It is a sort of financial angel flying through 
mid-heaven preaching the everlasting Gospel Every 
dollar that goes into its treasury becomes imperishable. 
It lives for all time, and lives for God. If you would 
make your money immortal, cast it here. It will work on 
and on after you have ceased to work, and will come to you 
with exceeding increase in eternity.' " 



122 The Task That Challenges 

Literary Aspiration. 

Horace boasted of his immortality: "I shall not entirely 
die. I have reared a monument more enduring than 
brass." Multitudes since, whether consciously or uncon- 
sciously, by literary achievement, scientific discovery, or 
heroic deed, have rendered their names immortal. Why 
not accomplish the same honorable end by still worthier 
means. A Memorial Fund will live forever, and the monu- 
ment will grow in importance as church after church rears 
its spire heavenward and adds to the number of the noble 
benefactions. Everything else crumbles and decays, but 
this kind projects itself into eternity. 

What Kind of a Monument} 

A sculptor proposes, at the enormous cost of one million 
dollars, to carve Stone Mountain, near Atlanta, into a 
gigantic memorial in honor of the Confederacy. It is a 
noble cause, precious as life itself to many thousands of 
patriotic citizens, but it would be a magnificent monument 
to the dead. A Memorial Fund of $5,000, according to 
the estimate of Dr. L. B. Warren, Secretary of Church Ex- 
tension of the Southern Baptist Church, in one generation 
would build 60 churches, increase to $30,587, and pro- 
mote church extension work equivalent to $150,000. Which 
monument will please the Master better, living churches 
or silent stone? "There is more joy in heaven over one 
church builded in his name, than over ninety and nine 
marble monuments that need not to have been built." 
The stone discolors and disintegrates by the corroding 
tooth of time, but every church built will proclaim through- 
out the ages the Gospel of the blessed Son of God and the 
gracious love of God for a lost world. The dead stone 
points backward to the silent past. The living Church 
faces the momentous future with its eternal issues of 
achievement and glorious reward. 



Church Erection 



123 



A MEMORIAL LOAN FUND IS MORE THAN A MEMORIAL; 

IT WORKS FOREVER 

FOR GOD AND FOR HUMANITY. 




IS THIS 

THE KIND OF 

MONUMENT 

YOU DESIRE? 



OR THIS? 




'I have built a house of habitation for Thee." 



124 The Task That Challenges 

Form of Subscription. 

For those who are willing to subscribe to a Memorial 
Fund or any part of one, the following form is suggested: 

In order to complete the $100,000 Semi-Centennial Building Loan 
Fund authorized by the General Assembly, and to be administered by 
the Executive Committee of Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church 
in the United States, 

>1,000 per year years 

500 per year years 

400 per year. years 

I will give \ 300 per year years 

200 per year years 

100 per year years 

. . . per year years 

(If so designated, sums of $500 or more will be held as a "Memorial 
Fund" to bear the name of the donor, or of one whose memory it is de- 
sired to honor.) 

Name 

Date Address 



Remittances Should be Made to A. N. SHARP, Treasurer, 
1522 Hurt Building, Atlanta, Ga. 



THE SEMI-CENTENNIAL BUILDING LOAN FUND. 

(This form is intended for one who wants to leave a part of his estate for 

Home Missions.) 



In consideration of the benefits received by me as a member of the 
Presbyterian Church in the United States, I hereby promise to pay to 
the Treasurer of the Executive Committee of Home Missions of the 

Presbyterian Church in the United States, the sum of 

dollars for the Semi-Centennial Building Loan Fund authorized by the 
General Assembly; said sum to be due and payable in one year from 
the date of my death, without interest ; and I hereby direct and empower 
my executor or administrator to pay the sum out of my estate. 



Church Erection: 125 



Witness my hand and seal this day of . 

A. D 



Signed in presence of 



(The Committee will hold sums of $500 or more as Memorial Funds.) 

This note should be sent to A. N. Sharp, Treasurer, 1522 Hurt Build- 
ing, Atlanta, Ga. 

The Annuity Plan. 

Many persons devoted to the traditions of the Presby- 
terian Church and willing to make noble sacrifices calcu- 
lated to contribute to its substantial growth, are neverthe- 
less hindered in their noble aspirations and handicapped by 
their environment. Advancing years limit their earning 
capacity, and their income is perhaps derived from small 
invested capital, often in constant danger of being swept 
away by bank failures or depreciation in stock values. 
For such, an annuity plan is provided, whereby a regular 
income is guaranteed, their investment rendered abso- 
lutely safe, while they themselves enjoy the satisfaction 
of seeing their investment paying splendid dividends in 
the sphere of church erection. 

The Executive Committee of Home Missions will re- 
ceive varying amounts upon which interest will be paid, 
at a fixed rate, during the entire life of the donor; and this 
money will be loaned to feeble churches to assist them in 
securing suitable houses of worship. The money thus 
accomplishes a two-fold purpose. It not only supports 
the annuitant in old age, but it likewise supports the work 
of the Lord, and will continue to increase its benefactions 
long after the donor has gone to a blessed reward. 

It is perhaps the only investment absolutely safe in this 
world where "riches take to themselves wings, and fly 
away as an eagle toward heaven." The assets of the Ex- 



126 The Task That Challenges 

ecutive Committee of Home Missions and the honor of the 
Presbyter'an Church make the investment as secure as 
government bonds. Upon request, the Executive Com- 
mittee of Home Missions will furnish information and the 
details of the plan to any one interested in a permanent 
and sa r e investment which will pay dividends both to the 
donor and to the Kingdom of Christ. 

Equipment Needed. 

Beyond all question, the greatest pressing need of the 
expanding work of Home Missions at present is an adequate 
equipment of houses of worship, mission schools and in- 
stitutional buildings. It has been ascertained that there 
are 275 homeless churches connected with our denomina- 
tion, for whom we must either build speedily or stand by 
and see them dissolve and scatter for the lack of a few hun- 
dred dollars to assist them with a timely loan. There are 
also 250 places clamoring for organization, where we could 
build up congregations if we could promise the necessary 
assistance. 

In our great cities where we are carrying on work among 
the foreigners, the best results are not conserved because 
the missionaries have no buildings in which to house their 
growing membership. The Church cannot expect ade- 
quate results so long as it compels its missionaries to at- 
tempt to "allure to better worlds and lead the way" in 
old, dilapidated rented buildings. As well expect a fac- 
tory to pay dividends with antiquated machinery. As 
well expect the farm to be productive without proper 
agricultural implements. 

A Building Fund is a denominational necessity ; the great- 
est need of our Church to-day. It is impossible to do a 
successful missionary work without some means with which 
to assist our faithful missionaries in securing houses of 
worship for their feeble congregations. 



Church Erection 127 

A prominent New York banker recently said: "I know 
something of investments, and in the whole range of benevo- 
lences I know nothing so definite, so sure, so permanently 
productive, as a gift which secures the erection of a church 
in the heart of this continent, where, with its renewals, it 
will stand for ages and be a blessing to thousands unborn." 

"The inadequate gift is a wasted gift." Will the Church 
expect our missionaries to "make brick without straw," or 
will she furnish the equipment that guarantees and renders 
effective its present investments of means and sacrificial 
lives? 



VII. 

MISSION SCHOOLS. 

One of our poets with penetrating vision emphasizes 
in a striking couplet the mutual benefit and intimate re- 
lation between church and school, saying of any country: 

"She dreads no skeptic's puny hands 
While near her school the church spire stands; 
Nor fears the blinded bigot's rule 
While near her church spire stands the school." 

Christ and the Child. 

"Is it well with the child?" This sympathetic inquiry 
of Israel's great prophet, addressed to an anxious mother, 
is the pertinent question of the ages. One greater than 
Elisha taught the world the worth of a child. He who 
gathered the children in his loving arms and placed his 
gentle hands in benediction upon them, saying, "Suffer 
the little children to come unto me and forbid them not, 
for of such is the kingdom of heaven," laid eternal obliga- 
tion upon his church to transmit his blessing to future 
generations in the command, "Feed my lambs." He has 
no human arms with which to embrace the children to- 
day, except the arms of his church. Through the instru- 
mentality of Christian homes, Sabbath and Mission 
schools, Christ is still laying his hands in benediction 
upon the children of to-day, and will continue through the 
same agency to reach the generations yet unborn. 

The Kingdom and the Child. 

"Of such is the kingdom of heaven," is capable of a 
a two-fold significance. Doubtless it does commend the 



Mission Schools 129 

child-like character as a type pertaining to the heavenly 
Kingdom; but does it not also imply that children are the 
material out of which the Kingdom is builded? Statistics 
show that additions to the church increase in percentage 
till the age of sixteen is reached, and then decline after 
that period in the same proportion. Take heed to the 
child, and the Kingdom will take care of itself. 

The Presbyterian Church and the Child. 

It has been repeatedly said: "The hand that rocks the 
cradle is the hand that rules the world." With equal 
propriety it might be affirmed, the Church that trains the 
child, holds the future. Oliver Wendell Holmes, being 
asked how early the training of a child should begin, an- 
swered, "One hundred years before it is born." David 
Hume boasted that if he were given the training of a child 
for the first seven years of its life, he could so implant the 
principles of skepticism in its mind as to be forever in- 
eradicable. The wisest of men, under the guidance of 
inspiration, advises, "Train up a child in the way he should 
go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Judaism 
to-day, practically without a Sabbath, without a sanctuary, 
and with but little influence of the rabbi, holds tenaciously 
to its faith, largely because it is a family religion, and dili- 
gently instructs the children in its peculiar ordinances and 
ceremonies. Rome knows the value of a child, and seeks 
by parochial school, by orphanage and by ceremonial 
observances, to get first possession of its youth. 

The substantial growth and world-wide influence of the 
Presbyterian Church in the past has been largely due to 
the emphasis which it has always placed upon the family 
and the school; and the unit in both factors is the child. 
The most distinctive feature characteristic of this Church 
has been the importance which it has always attached to 
child-training in the home, and to Christian education. 



130 The Task That Challenges 

An Adjunct to Christianity. 

Education may be regarded in the light of a daughter 
of the Church ; or at least a handmaiden of religion. Evan- 
gelism must be recognized unquestionably as the chief 
business of the Church, but whatever is contributory to 
that end is more than legitimate; and the usefulness of 
education as such an adjunct cannot for a moment be called 
in question. In one sense it is not simply justifiable but 
essential. Evangelism may be somewhat evanescent and 
its larger benefits dissipated, if unaccompanied by the 
educational training calculated to conserve permanent re- 
sults. The command, "Go ye into all the world and preach 
the Gospel to every creature," is supplemented and elabo- 
rated by the injunction, "Go ye therefore and teach all 
Nations." Both at home and abroad, the Mission school 
has not simply been the most practical and efficient means 
of obeying this injunction, but has also been the "open 
sesame," to many homes and hearts which hitherto had 
been successfully and effectually closed to all approach. 

In the Boulac Museum at Cairo, Egypt, the tourist 
looks upon the stern features of Rameses II, the Pharaoh 
of the oppression, resting in his glass case, a shriveled 
mummy! Near him reposes another, labeled "Pharaoh's 
daughter." He overran the world with his armies, erected 
everywhere gigantic statues of himself and boastful monu- 
ments to commemorate his victories, and is identified by 
some as "Sesostris the Great," and by others as the builder 
of the Pyramids by means of Hebrew slave labor, under 
the lash of the Egyptian taskmasters. Egypt to-day is 
full of the broken fragments of his greatness; his statues 
are lying in the dust, or filling a place in the British Mu- 
seum, his crumbling tenement of clay an object of curiosity 
to the tourist and himself an enigma to the historian. 
His daughter, lying in the sarcophagus near-by, built no 
pyramid and left no monument to her memory, but with 
the generous instinct of a woman she rescued a castaway 



Mission Schools 131 

babe from the bulrushes of the Nile and trained him for 
his life work. That babe left his impress, as Jewish law- 
giver, not simply upon one nation and generation, but 
after more than three millenniums he still shapes the legis- 
lation of the world; and no parliament of earth in this 
Twentieth Century would dare enact a law contrary to the 
fundamental principles of justice embodied in the Penta- 
teuch; and Moses is rivaled only by Paul as the greatest 
of human school-masters. In Rome is exhibited the great 
statue of Moses by Michael Angelo, the sculptor's gift 
to the world as a masterpiece of art; but the original Moses, 
the masterpiece of scholarship, ''learned in all the wisdom 
of the Egyptians," is the gift to the world of Pharaoh's 
daughter. 

"He built a house; time laid it in the dust; 
He wrote a book; its title is forgot; 
He ruled a city; but his name is not 
On any tablet graven, or where rust 
Can gather from disuse, or marble bust. 
He took a child from out a wretched cot, 
Who on the State dishonor might have brought, 
And reared him to the Christian's hope and trust. 
The boy, to manhood grown, became a light 
To many souls, preached for human need 
The wondrous love of the Omnipotent. 
His work has multiplied like stars at night 
When darkness deepens. Every noble deed 
Lasts longer than a granite monument." 

Educational Leadership. 

Accomplished largely through the instrumentality of 
its Mission schools, the Presbyterian Church has been char- 
acterized by intelligent membership and trained leader- 
ship, which have made it the educative denomination of 
Christendom, a fact well-nigh universally admitted. 

Its rigid standards and uncompromising Calvinism have 
prevented it from securing popular hold upon the masses; 



132 The Task That Challenges 

and its membership roll for this reason will not measure in 
length with some others, but it has gradually elevated the 
common standard of education and of Christian living. 
It has led most, if not all, denominations in the fight for 
constitutional liberty, in per capita for benevolences, in 
Foreign Missions, and in support of great undenomina- 
tional enterprises, such as the Bible cause, the Student 
Volunteer Movement and Y. M. C. A. 

No man in the Church is more qualified to speak on this 
subject than Dr. W. W. Moore, President of Union Theo- 
logical Seminary, Richmond, Va., who asserts: "The Pres- 
byterian Church was once the greatest educational force 
in this country. She is still a great educational factor, but 
she has lost her primacy. Other denominations have of 
late outstripped her. We rejoice in their progress, but it is 
to our discredit that latterly we have not shown equal wis- 
dom, zeal and enterprise. We have forfeited the leading 
place in education which was once indisputably ours. W 7 e 
have not kept abreast of some of our sister churches. We 
have made some progress, but relatively we have fallen be- 
hind. That the Presbyterian Church should bring up 
the rear of the procession in educational work is an anomaly 
not to be endured. Her place is at the head of the column. 
We therefore welcome the signs of the awakening of our 
people on this subject. Their thorough awakening is all 
that is needed to guarantee the recovery of our primacy 
in education. We believe that we still have the most 
thoroughly educated ministry. We believe that we have 
the most substantial and well-trained membership. We 
certainly have the financial resources. The gifts of our 
people to other causes show that we are far in the lead in 
the matter of liberality. Therefore we repeat that what 
is now needed to restore our Church to her rightful place 
in Christian education is to show our people their oppor- 
tunity and to formulate some broad-minded and far- 
reaching plans for harmonious, concerted, church-wide ef- 
fort." 



Mission Schools 133 

In "The South To-day," Dr. John M. Moore, Secretary 
of Home Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
South, furnishes the following valuable information con- 
cerning Christian education in the South: 

"The Methodists and Baptists became as active as the 
Presbyterians, and by virtue of their later superior numbers 
have been able to found and maintain a larger number of 
schools. 

"The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, now has 
twenty-six colleges, nine junior colleges, twenty-four 
schools that bear the name of college but whose courses 
of study leave them in an unclassified list, and thirty first- 
class academies. The total value of the property is $12,- 
332,539 and the endowment is $6,304,000. The total 
enrollment in the colleges is 7,033, of whom 4,857 are in 
college courses. 

"The Southern Baptists have twenty-eight colleges 
whose property value, counting grounds, buildings and 
libraries, is $7,500,000, and with large and growing endow- 
ments. These schools have an enrollment of 9,200, of 
whom 4,600 are in college courses. The Presbyterians 
have twenty-three colleges in the Southern States with a 
property value of $4,210,000 and an endowment of $3,- 
091,000. The student enrollment is 5,200, of whom 2,700 
are in college courses. The Church of the Disciples, or 
Christian Church, has seven colleges valued at $2,115,000 
with an endowment of $1,115,000." 

Dr. Henry H. Sweets, Secretary of Christian Education 
and Ministerial Relief, gives the following classified list of 
schools and colleges under the oversight and control of the 
Presbyterian Church, U. S., which will convey some idea 
of the growing educational interest in the Church : 

"16 Elementary Schools with 830 students. These are 
all co-educational. 

22 Preparatory Schools with 2,032 students. Four of 



134 The Task That Challenges 

these schools are for boys. Three are for girls. Fifteen 
are co-educational. 

2 Collegiate Institutes with 265 students. One is for 
girls. One is co-educational. 

9 Junior Colleges with 989 students. Eight are for 
women. One is co-educational. 

2 Affiliated Junior Colleges with 423 students. Both are 
for women. 

16 Presbyterian Colleges with 2,556 students. Eight 
are for men. Five are for women. Three are co-educa- 
tional. 

1 Affiliated Presbyterian College with 302 students, 
for women. 

6 Theological Seminaries with 326 students. This in- 
cludes Stillman Institute in Tuscaloosa, Ala., for colored 
men. 

"Besides all these regular schools, there are 11 Orphans 
Homes and Schools with 1,032 children. All these are co- 
educational and all have the best of modern educational 
training, so that they may well be included in the list of 
schools. 

"All this means that last year, taking those of all ages, 
8,453 men, women and children were in schools where the 
truth as contained in the Bible is made the foundation of 
all training, whether physical, mental or moral." 

At one time the Presbyterian Church led the world in 
educational institutions, but by some unaccountable 
short-sightedness, it has fallen somewhat behind in the 
race for preeminence in the chief thing which has made it 
great, and given it denominational leadership. How- 
ever, by means of its numerous Mission schools, this Church 
is beginning to recover lost ground, and at the same time 
propagate its faith and distinctive principles in communi- 
ties where otherwise it could scarcely hope to obtain a 
hearing and a foothold. Denominational advantage is by 
no means its chief consideration, for its Mission schools 



Mission Schools 135 

are ministering most effectively to human need. In far 
distant mountain coves, and in other destitute communi- 
ties, these schools are rescuing the stranded and dependent 
classes, and giving them a fair chance for the survival of 
the fittest in the struggle for life. 

The Verdict of History. 

The history of the Presbyterian Church in the United 
States indicates that it grew most rapidly and took firmer 
hold upon communities where it was re-enforced by the 
parochial school. The "Log College" of the Tennents 
in New Jersey developed into Princeton, and made New 
Jersey and Pennsylvania predominantly Presbyterian in 
the Colonial Period, and the stronghold of the denomina- 
tion to-day. In the South, Hampden-Sidney of Virginia, 
the Caldwell School of North Carolina, and the Wellington 
School of Abbeville County, S. C, with similar institutions, 
gave such bias to the Atlantic Coast for Presbyterianism, 
as to make it a controlling influence for generations, and 
this section the most distinctively Presbyterian with the 
largest per cent, proportionately to population in the Na- 
tion. The Wellington School, near the birthplace of the 
author, taught by Dr. Moses Waddell, afterwards Chan- 
cellor of the University of Georgia, educated such leading 
statesmen as John C. Calhoun, Vice-President of the 
United States; Geo. McDuffie and Edward Noble, both 
Governors of the State; Jas. L. Pettigrew, the most dis- 
tinguished lawyer of Charleston, S. C; Jno. T. Pressly, 
the eminent theologian, and General Longstreet, author 
of "Georgia Scenes." 

The public school system has rendered unnecessary, 
and largely supplanted, these parochial grammar schools 
in many sections of the country ; but there are other frontier 
and destitute regions where the same need exists and the 
same opportunity invites the Presbyterian Church to dupli- 
cate its noble work and repeat its glorious traditions of the 



136 The Task That Challenges 

past. Will she recognize her obligation, and in serving 
humanity make herself great as the benefactor of the race? 

Distinctive Features. 

If secular education were the sole purpose of schools, 
the Church would perhaps be hardly justified in entering 
the field, and might wisely leave the whole matter in the 
hands of the State; but Christian education, rising one de- 
gree higher than mere secular learning, finds its justifica- 
tion in nobler ideals and worthier aims. In the educa- 
tional sphere it claims for its Mission schools the same justi- 
fication which commends its limited and qualified social 
service program in the realm of the eleemosynary. 

Dr. Newell Dwight Hillis eulogizes the commercial value 
of education in this striking language: "If by divine fiat, 
tomorrow you could quadruple the education and intelli- 
gence of the one hundred millions of people in this country, 
you would multiply by ten the wealth of the republic. 
Recently I was in the Patent Office at Washington, look- 
ing at the tools. Three out of four of the new tools are 
not yet practical. The people are not yet ready for them. 
As yet the workmen are too careless to handle the ex- 
quisitely fine tools and costly material. But we shall soon 
double the intelligence of the nation, and then all these in- 
ventions will come in, to increase the comfort and the happi- 
ness of the people. Wisdom is not only better than rubies, 
but it can now manufacture a thousand coins of gold. Ig- 
norance can turn Carthage into a heap and make New 
York a ruin, but knowledge can cover the desert lands of 
Idaho and Colorado and Nevada with houses and gardens 
by leading streams of water across the thirsty plains. 
Verily there is a cave of diamonds and an Aladdin's lamp. 
Knowledge finds the path to the cave and treasure-house, 
and wisdom holds the key. Therefore, with all thy getting, 
get wisdom, and with all thy having, have knowledge." 



Mission Schools 137 

Then, recognizing the utter inadequacy of the mere 
secular, unaccompanied by the moral, he bears fine testi- 
mony to the latter: "The greatness of an individual and 
of a nation is threatened when the intellect is ahead of the 
conscience, and culture is ranked above morality. His- 
tory teaches that mental power and moral principle must 
journey forward side by side. Unfortunately, our genera- 
tion seems to know the right but to be losing the power of 
doing it. Among certain classes moral illiteracy prevails. 
The school has lent the intellect wings, but the conscience 
crawls. The reason moves swiftly along the highway with 
the speed of a palace car; the virtues follow slowly, as if 
moving in an oxcart. Unfortunately, a generation may be 
wise towards books and illiterate towards morals. Solo- 
mon was at once the 'wisest' and the 'meanest' of men. 
Daniel speaks of the image that was part gold and part 
mud — which is a portrait of the Hebrew king who had read 
and written many books, but who was profligate, drunken 
and personally indecent and vicious. At the very moment 
that the wise king's forehead was crowned with the flowers 
of wisdom, his feet were in the mire of passion. Witness 
also Lord Bacon's knowledge of science and his sale of judi- 
cial decisions and his acceptance of bribes! Witness 
Goethe's culture and Goethe's infidelity to the women he 
loved! By common consent, ours is an educated era; 
those instruments for the diffusion of knowledge and wis- 
dom, the common schools, the press and the book, were 
never so strong nor so numerous. Would that our genera- 
tion could do all that it knows and obey every principle 
it has discovered ! The rulers of this nation would doubt- 
less be glad to exchange a part of the knowledge possessed 
by the reason to receive in return an increment of obedience 
for the mind and heart." 

This is the province of Christian education, as the state 
admits it has no constitutional warrant to inculcate re- 
ligion. The Mission school differs from the state institu- 



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Mission Schools 139 

tion in three respects: In addition to the secular curriculum 
which is common to both, the church school lays emphasis 
on Biblical instruction and religious training. It intro- 
duces the industrial feature, and trains vocationally for 
the practical affairs of life. Indirectly it serves a still 
higher purpose by inspiring and training an elect number 
of young men for the gospel ministry, an object in itself 
a sufficient compensation for effort and expense. 

Out of such a Mission school came George Truitt, the 
great Baptist preacher of the South, sometimes designated 
the "Spurgeon" of his denomination. At the meeting of 
West Lexington Presbytery of Kentucky in April, 1915, 
at Highland College, three bright young men of that in- 
stitution offered themselves and were received as candi- 
dates for the gospel ministry. Dr. E. O. Guerrant, of 
sainted memory, who laid the foundations of our Moun- 
tain Mission school work in Kentucky, traveling one day 
in Letcher county, which holds the record for unchurched 
masses in the United States, 97 per cent, of its population 
being unidentified with any denomination, saw a boy sitting 
on a log by the roadside, and questioned him as to the 
matter of entering the ministry, and then forgot the inci- 
dent. The boy, however, did not forget, and Jonathan 
Day is now in charge of the great Labor Temple of the 
Presbyterian Church in New York City, where he ad- 
dresses great crowds every night in the week. He also 
has a brother to-day in one of our Mountain Mission 
schools. 

"O little, haggard, voiceless child, 

I would that I might speak for thee! 
That I might send thy message far 
To hearts of human sympathy! 

"Alas! my crude and blundering speech 
Goes halting all the way; but then, 
Someone, sometime, shall speak for thee 
Such words as touch the hearts of men. 



140 The Task That Challenges 

"And in that day, O little child, 

We'll build our monuments in thee, 
We'll coin our gold in perfect lives, 
And mould thee for eternity." 

Raison d'etre. 

Both Church and State, from equally strong though 
dissimilar motives, are alike under obligations to educate 
the youth of the land, destined to become the leadership 
of the future. The state must teach its future citizenship, 
and the church is entitled to train its leadership. The 
Constitution of the state may limit the instruction to the 
secular and prevent its entering the domain of religion. 
The church is not so limited and may teach the secular 
for the sake of the religious. 

Dr. W. H. P. Faunce, in speaking of this work, says : "Here, 
then, is our national peril — that the supremely important 
task of our generation will fall between Church and State 
and be ignored by both. The Church may say, 'Education 
is no longer in our hands.' The state may say, 'On all 
religious matters we are silent.' Thus millions may grow 
up — are actually growing up in America to-day — without 
any genuinely religious training. It is time, therefore, for 
church and school to co-operate, as Army and Navy co- 
operate, in defence of our common country." 

In the higher institutions of learning, the state is better 
prepared, perhaps, to furnish superior and technical ad- 
vantages. In the secondary schools at present, and espe- 
cially in the poorer mountain sections, the Church is better 
equipped for the task. 

Rev. W. E. Hudson, himself a mountaineer, and at one 
time Superintendent of Mountain Missions, thus de- 
scribes the need: "Being isolated, the Highlander has had 
practically no chance to receive an education. The 
Superintendent of public instruction in one mountain 
state, said that 75 per cent, of the schools were failures 



Mission Schools 141 

on account of incompetent teachers. Often some of these 
teachers can do little more than read and write. Many 
school buildings in Kentucky are so open that it is im- 
possible to teach in them during the winter, so the school 
often closes in the middle of the term. 

"We can see the result of these poor school facilities in 
the following statement: At the last census 13.4 per cent, 
of the native white male voters in the seven mountain 
states were illiterate, while of the same class in the United 
States as a whole, only 4.9 were illiterate." 

Recognizing the insufficiency of the public school sys- 
tem in many communities, even for secular training, the 
Governor of Kentucky, James B. McCreary, and the State 
Superintendent of Education, Barksdale Hamlett, have 
generously endorsed our Mission schools and welcomed 
our Church as a valuable ally in this sphere of service. 
The following testimonial from the Governor should for- 
ever set at rest any suggestion that Kentucky's great men 
are jealous of the Mission schools of the Church as inter- 
fering in any way with the prerogative of the state, or 
that there is no necessity for such Christian schools: 

"I thought the occasion worthy of my attendance as 
Governor of this state, to speak at the dedication of Beech- 
wood Seminary, and accepted your invitation to do so. 
After seeing your school and meeting the people of Lee 
county, who have to-day shown their interest in this 
work by thronging here to assist in the dedication by their 
presence, I am more than ever certain that this is a needed 
and worthy effort to better the condition of our mountain 
people; also that they appreciate what is being done. 

"There are no better people on earth than those in Lee 
county and adjoining counties, and the isolated conditions 
that have heretofore prevented their children from secur- 
ing an adequate education, should no longer prevent the 
development of the mountain people. I wish you all 
success in your work." 



142 The Task That Challenges 

To the same effect is the statement of the State Super- 
intendent of Education: 

"When you asked me to come up to the dedication of 
Beechwood Seminary and to speak for you on that occa- 
sion, I gladly consented, feeling that as State Superin- 
tendent of Public Instruction, I should be serving the edu- 
cational interests of the state by officially endorsing 
what your Society is doing for the mountain population 
of Kentucky. 

"I am glad that I came and exceedingly pleased to see 
how eager these mountain people are to show their appre- 
ciation of your efforts as they have done this day. 

"It has been shown me that many living too far back 
from Heidelberg to send their children daily from their 
homes, are unable to find board here for them, and that 
dormitories are much needed to extend your power to 
bring the school and the children in touch with each other. 

"I hope you will be able to find the funds soon. If 
anyone wishes to refer to me, as to whether money thus 
spent will be well spent, I am at any time ready to do what 
I can to satisfy them upon that point." 

If the Church can furnish better equipment, better 
teachers and better moral influences, who can forbid her 
entrance into this noble sphere of service? The period 
of adolescence when character is formed and the individual 
is most susceptible of religious influences, affords such a 
magnificent opportunity as to constitute a tremendous 
obligation upon Christianity. 

"I took a piece of plastic clay 
And idly fashioned it one day, 
And as my fingers pressed it still, 
It moved and yielded to my will. 

"I came again when days were past; 
The bit of clay was hard at last, 
The form I gave it, still it bore, 
But I could change that form no more. 



Mission Schools 143 

"I took a piece of living clay, 
And gently formed it day by day 
And moulded with my power and art 
A young child's soft and yielding heart. 

"I came again when years were gone, 
It was a man I looked upon; 
He still that earthly impress wore, 
And I could change him never more." 

Objections Considered. 

In a recent address before the Home Missions Council 
in New York, Prof. John C. Campbell, of the Russell Sage 
Foundation, indulged in friendly criticism of the Church 
Mission School system, insisting that these institutions 
injure mountain communities by robbing them of their 
best material, and leave the rubbish without competent 
leadership. He compares the system to a dragnet drawing 
the largest fish out of their element and impoverishing 
the community to that extent. In his opinion it is a sys- 
tem for the favored few, training them away from their 
rural environments and encouraging them to chase after 
the rainbow end that touches the plain, instead of remain- 
ing where darkness and light battle for the supremacy. 
His contention is for schools which adapt themselves to 
life's problems, training for the environment in which the 
beneficiaries live ; and that the future of the Church school 
will be determined by its aim, as outlined by this ideal. 

The Church should welcome friendly criticism and be 
reasonable enough to admit the force of whatever is just, 
profiting thereby. The fault, however, is not inherent 
in the system, but rather the result of false ideals and mis- 
taken zeal on the part of many well-meaning and splendid 
teachers. Why not hasten to admit that it is a mistaken 
sentiment which fires a mountain boy with the ambition 
to be a missionary to China or the pastor of a great city 
church, whereas he might be something greater as the 



144 The Task That Challenges 

Apostle of his own people. Perhaps the Church itself is 
somewhat in error by creating a false halo for the brow of 
the foreign missionary and extolling his work as the high- 
est type of heroism. Possibly it would require more heroic 
self-sacrifice to avoid the limelight of publicity and bury 
one's self in the task of regenerating a mountain com- 
munity, especially when that community is composed of 
one's own kindred. 

"God's glory is a wondrous thing, 
Most .strange in all its ways, 
And, of all things on earth, least like 
What men agree to praise." 

At the Judgment bar many will change places — and "The 
first shall be last; and the last shall be first." 

Years ago someone said, "It remains to be seen what God 
can do with one man who yields himself completely to 
the divine will"; and a young man named Dwight L. 
Moody exclaimed, "I will be the man." The world knows 
the result. It remains yet to be seen what God can do 
with some mountain boy who yields himself for the de- 
spised task of redeeming a mountain section. Michael 
Angelo once said he never saw a block of rough marble 
without feeling within himself the strong impulse to liberate 
the angel imprisoned within it; and his many masterpieces 
of art still live to show how well he fulfilled his purpose. 
The rough material of the mountains awaits the consecrated 
genius of some great soul, to liberate these men and wo- 
men and make them live forever, as evidence of what God 
can do with a man entirely yielded to the divine will for 
a great purpose. 

Pathetic Incidents. 

Rev. Homer McMillan is responsible for the following 
complaint of a neglected mountain child: "Nobody never 



Mission Schools 145 

comes in here and nobody never goes out. My paw just 
growed up and never knowed nothin', and so did his paw 
afore him. Sometimes when I be hoein' corn on the 
mountain side I looks up the crick and down the crick, and 
wonders if there ain't nobody never comin' to larn me 
nothin'." This is the real need expressed for thousands 
of boys and girls shut away in the narrow coves of the 
mountain regions. 

A half-intoxicated mountaineer, an old man, said to one 
of our teachers: "You can't do anything much for me; but 
you can educate and save my children." One of our teach- 
ers wrote the author the following true incident: Having 
tried in various ways to awaken and interest an incorrigi- 
ble mountain boy, she at last said, "Charles, don't you 
want to learn and improve yourself, so you can go to 
Heaven?" To which he replied, "No, Miss Jennie, I 
don't want to go to Heaven. I'd rather stay here where 
I am better acquainted." Another related to the writer 
that after teaching the children a prayer to be repeated 
each night on retiring, she would occasionally request each 
child to say whether he was keeping up the practice. At 
last a boy about fifteen suddenly asked before the whole 
school: "Miss Patsy, I want to know how long this thing 
has got to be kept up?" To which she replied, "As long as 
you live." 

Dr. Guerrant was fond of relating this amusing incident: 
At the opening of one of our large schools, an ungainly 
youth put in his appearance as a boarder. The principal 
said to him, "Where is your trunk?" "What do I want 
with a trunk?" "Why," said the teacher, "to put your 
clothes in." With a puzzled look he answered, "What 
would I be doing with my clothes in a trunk?" 

Need, the Criterion. 

No question is herein raised as to the practicability or 
advisability of extending the Church school system through- 



146 The Task That Challenges 

out the country. The determining factor which has 
hitherto guided in the establishment of these Mission 
schools has been the sole consideration of need, and the 
financial ability of the Home Mission Committee to re- 
spond to the appeals which cry from many a cove and 
mountain valley. Whether such need has been fully met 
may be judged by the following figures in round numbers, 
furnished by an eminent authority in educational matters: 

Mountain population 5,000,000 

Mountain rural population 4,500,000 

Mountain school children . 3,000,000 

Mountain pupils in Mission schools 25,000 

Mountain teachers, in Mission schools 1,000 

For this reason our Mission schools are confined for the 
present almost exclusively to the dependent classes, such 
as Mountaineers, Indians, Foreigners and Negroes. Lack 
of space prevents any complete and adequate account of 
our system. Only such data need be given as to furnish 
a comprehensive survey of the field. The subject is still 
further embarrassed by the gradual shading off of the 
Mission school into the college, and the uncertainty whether 
an institution would be complimented or offended by in- 
clusion in the list. 

Indian. 

First in point of time came our Mission schools for the 
Indians, dating back seventy-five years. One of the most 
important was Spencer Academy, in the Choctaw Nation 
of the Indian Territory, where Sheldon Jackson once taught 
and did his first Home Mission work. It was here also 
that Rev. J. J. Read, of blessed memory, labored so faith- 
fully and moulded the character of such native preachers 
as Henry Wilson, Silas L. Bacon, and others. Later 
Armstrong Academy, under the management of Rev. 



Mission Schools 147 

W. J. B. Lloyd, Rev. C. J. Ralston and others, rendered 
splendid service to the Indian people and to the Presby- 
terian Church. Inadequate support by the Church is the 
same old story of neglect which necessitated withdrawal; 
and both of these historic institutions are now government 
or tribal schools, and are still giving good account of 
themselves in the sphere of secular education. 

Goodland. 

The oldest Indian school, which has had a continuous 
life, is Goodland, near Hugo, Okla., and it reaches back 
about seventy-five years. For many years it was strictly 
missionary and under the control of the Church. The 
altered situation in the management of Indian affairs 
necessitated changes in the conducting of Mission schools; 
and fifteen years ago the present Secretary of Home 
Missions found in existence a plan whereby the "tribal 
funds" were used at Goodland for paying teachers for the 
Indians, the Executive Committee of Home Missions 
furnishing and paying the salary of mission teachers in 
the school. This arrangement was soon abandoned, and 
the school was carried on entirely by means of "tribal 
funds," but the Indian school board ordinarily appointed 
Presbyterian teachers, in deference to the wishes of the 
community. 

Several years ago a legacy for Indian Missions supplied 
the need of a suitable dormitory, which enabled the friends 
of the school to take boarding pupils, and especially orphan 
Indian children. Rev. Silas Bacon, an Indian preacher, 
had been in charge for several years, and conducted the 
boarding department. Through his influence the Choctaw 
Legislature made an appropriation of $10,000 from "tribal 
funds" for the school, subject to the approval of Congress. 
As it would have embarrassed the Presbyterian Church 
to receive this appropriation, Rev. Silas Bacon was ad- 
vised to withdraw the school from all connection with the 



148 The Task That Challenges 

Home Mission Committee. This was accordingly done 
and the property is held by a local Board of Trustees, 
largely Indians, and independent, though all its members 
are Presbyterians. The school has three teachers and 
150 pupils, most of them being boarders. It has a modern 
equipment of recitation halls, dormitories, auditoriums, 
etc., valued at $20,000. The Institution serves a noble 
purpose, and is commended to the kind benefactions of 
generous friends of Indian and Christian education. 

Oklahoma Presbyterian College. 

No institution in our Church fills a more unique and use- 
ful place than this college, which developed through suc- 
cessive stages from a small primary school to a prominent 
place among the colleges for the Christian education of 
women. It is our only Synodical institution in that great 
progressive state. It educates Indians and whites on equal 
footing, and ordinarily they are about equal in numbers. 
It is regarded by the general public as one of the best in 
the state, and it fills a sphere peculiarly its own. 

The campus of thirty acres, within the corporate limits 
of Durant, was given by friends, at a cost of $27,000. The 
building, which is school and dormitory combined, cost 
nearly $100,000. During its construction, overtaken by 
financial misfortunes, several times its friends and pro- 
moters lost hope and feared it was wrecked. Once the 
women of the Church saved it; and in the end a few mem- 
bers of the Board devised ways and means which rescued 
it from final collapse. 

Too much credit cannot be accorded President W. B. 
Morrison for his capable management and the heroic 
struggle by which he has operated it for seven years, 
gradually equipping it with apparatus and furniture. 
He has educated young women who are a credit to him and 
to the institution, and they are now scattered throughout 
a wide area. 



Mission Schools 



149 




150 The Task That Challenges 

Inadequate equipment has so greatly handicapped its 
usefulness and so proportionately augmented expenses, 
that it becomes necessary to provide another dormitory 
which will double its usefulness, without adding to the 
expense of operation. By an arrangement of joint co- 
operation, the Synod undertook a campaign within its 
bounds, and the Executive Committee of Home Missions 
set aside the special gifts of Home Mission Week for a new 
dormitory and better equipment. Partial success has 
crowned these efforts. 

Mountains. 

By far the most important because of need, destitution, 
and the number of schools operated and pupils taught, are 
our institutions in the Appalachian Mountains. 

Leaving out the fertile valleys and towns containing 
more than 2,500 people each, it is calculated that there are 
at least three million mountaineers in the dependent class, 
whose partial destitution entitles them to special considera- 
tion at the hands of the Church. In addition to evan- 
gelistic work, a system of mission schools is maintained, 
not simply for purposes of secular education, but to im- 
plant in the minds and hearts of the children at the im- 
pressionable age, the precepts and principles of religion. 

"Including Presbyterian and Synodical Schools, our 
Church has in round numbers forty-six Mountain schools 
and Missions. The total annual budget of all these schools, 
including improvements, has been roughly estimated at 
$85,000. The fact that many of these are mission stations 
as well as schools, and that the work is carried on the year 
round increases the cost per capita of each pupil. In 
round numbers there are 3,250 pupils in these schools. 
The average amount charged for tuition and board in all 
these schools is about $8.00 per month, perhaps the cheap- 
est educational institutions in the land. Many of our 
schools are becoming community centers. Basket and 



Mission Schools 151 

base ball, annual fair and field day exercises have been en- 
couraged. The teaching of the industrial arts has been 
emphasized, namely, Domestic Science, Home-Making, 
Sewing, Basketry and Agriculture." 

Foreign- Speaking. 

The first in point of time and the most prosperous, is 
the Texas-Mexican Work. From an humble origin it has 
grown to a vigorous Presbytery, which coincides with the 
Synod of Texas. It now has 22 Mexican churches, 1,200 
communicants, served by 4 American missionaries and 6 
native Mexican pastors. The additions annually exceed 
the average number added to Presbyteries of the same 
size. 

By far the most important development has been the 
establishment of an Industrial school for young men at 
Kingsville, Texas. Rev. J. W. Skinner, D. D., has been 
placed in charge and is demonstrating that he is a work- 
man approved of God. Mrs. King donated 700 acres 
of land for the school and part of it has been brought under 
cultivation. Inexpensive buildings have been erected at 
a cost of several thousand dollars, and the school has been 
conducted with good attendance. It has at present no 
endowment, poor equipment, and is largely dependent 
upon special gifts and voluntary contributions for its 
running expenses. 

If the Texas-Mexican Industrial Institute should fall 
heir to a reasonable endowment, it would enable the 
school to make a very large contribution toward the solu- 
tion of all the problems that confront our Texas-Mexican 
Mission. For the men who are really to save the situation 
and give definite solution to many of the most difficult 
problems are there receiving that which will fit them for 
serving the Church as well as serving their fellow-country- 
men in a manifold way. We should realize that the 



152 The Task That Challenges 

Texas-Mexicans themselves must solve the Texas- Mexican 
problems and should be fitted for this great responsi- 
bility. 

Italians. 

The Italian Mission at Birmingham is so named because 
that is the predominant nationality, but there are as many 
as 12 nationalities represented in our Mission schools 
there, and 41 nationalities are enumerated in the census 
of the Birmingham District. Sabbath schools are main- 
tained at different places, while day schools, night schools, 
kindergartens, domestic science, etc., are taught by com- 
petent and devoted women who have the missionary 
spirit. One hundred and fifty attend the various schools, 
of whom 103 are gatheied into our Sabbath schools for 
these foreign peoples. The equipment for all this work 
is a two-story school building, a chapel, and several rented 
houses. The work is seriously crippled and hindered by 
lack of proper equipment. The Executive Committee 
makes an appropriation towards the current expenses, but 
has no funds with which to erect buildings having institu- 
tional features that are necessary to properly equip a work 
of this character. 

The Italian Mission at Kansas City is located in the midst 
of a population of 6,000 Italians, most of them from South- 
ern Italy. A large portion of the licensed saloons are lo- 
cated in this section of the city, which contains also the 
segregated vice district. As a result of mission effort by 
the Central Presbyterian church, about sixty have been 
added to the roll of this church, and a splendid plant 
erected valued at $16,000. 

In addition to the pastor in charge, two consecrated 
women are employed as teachers and helpers, while the 
Sabbath School superintendent and teachers give their 
services gladly. The people take part in the public ser- 
vices, giving their religious experiences, and asking ques- 



Mission Schools 153 

tions. During the summer, worship is conducted in the 
open air, attended by large numbers, sometimes reaching 
300 or more. 

The industrial and institutional features of the work con- 
sist of kindergartens, drills, classes in domestic science, etc. 
Bible classes are also conducted for women in the after- 
noon; and there are lectures with music for boys and men, 
and gymnasium exercises one evening in the week. 

Negroes. 

The Stillman Institute has had an enrollment of seventy- 
two, of whom forty are candidates for the ministry. Some 
academic students were turned away, to make room for 
theological students, for whom chiefly the Institute was 
founded. The present dormitory accommodates only 
forty-eight. Two other facts should be remembered, 
which distinguish this school from all other theological 
schools in the country : 

1. It is a true Home Missionary contribution of the 
Presbyterian Church to the salvation and uplift of the 
Negro race. Students of approved character are received 
from all denominations and treated alike. The funda- 
mental fact before us is to train this immature and growing 
race in the great and plain doctrines of grace, and to give 
them a usable knowledge of the English Bible. 

2. Simple industries are provided, such as gardening, 
carpentry, dairying and poultry raising, which afford a 
wise vehicle for education and a sensible means of exercise 
and recreation to the students. Credit is given them for 
all labor performed, thus enabling any student partly 
to pay his own way to an education. No dead languages 
are taught, and there is an effort made to train our gradu- 
ates to be self-reliant and enterprising. 

Of our graduates, thirty-three are serving seventy 
colored Presbyterian churches, many are also teaching 



154 The Task That Challenges 

parochial schools. As many more are enlisted in the 
ministry of other churches. Three are useful missionaries 
in Africa. 

Abbeville (S. C.) School. 

For many years the Ferguson Williams School at Abbe- 
ville, S. C, has dragged itself slowly, embarrassed by debt, 
inadequate equipment and the inability of the Executive 
Committee to render very substantial aid. Plans are now 
being perfected for enlargement, and the establishment of 
a first class school with industrial features at this place, 
but the details are not sufficiently advanced or the enter- 
prise so definitely assured as to warrant the immediate 
fulfilment of our hopes. 

Primary and parochial schools are being taught by col- 
ored pastors and their assistants, in connection with their 
pastorates in different cities, and the Executive Com- 
mittee of Home Missions has financed Vacation Bible 
Schools in Atlanta at an average cost per pupil of $1. 

Guerrant Inland Mission. 

Sir Humphrey Davy, the eminent scientist, being asked 
on one occasion what he considered his greatest discovery, 
made an unexpected reply. Instead of naming his "Safety 
Lamp," "Sodium," "Potassium," or some other of his 
brilliant chemical achievements, he answered, "Michael 
Faraday." With little education and practically no train- 
ing, this boy had been employed by Sir Humphrey Davy 
as a utility man in the laboratory, but he was inspired by 
the influence of his great master to undertake independent 
investigation, which resulted in the demonstration of 
electricity as a practical motor power. In a certain sense, 
Michael Faraday's labors made possible the telegraph,, 
telephone, and every electric motor that turns the million 
wheels of machinery. Robert Raikes discovered the poor 



Mission Schools 155 

waifs of our great cities, and the result is the modern 
Sabbath school system, teaching 17,000,000 children 
throughout Christendom. 

In like manner the credit belongs to Dr. Edward O. 
Guerrant of discovering the isolated and neglected chil- 
dren of our Appalachian Mountains; and the hundreds of 
chapels and schools of the future, which are destined to 
spring up in unnumbered mountain communities to bless 
thousands of children yet unborn, will constitute his per- 
petual monument. Is it any wonder that the General 
Assembly, with a rising and unanimous vote, decided to 
perpetuate his name and influence, by naming all its 
Mountain Work in honor of its founder, "The Guerrant 
Inland Mission"? He has gone to his blessed reward, 
but his "works do follow" him, and he, "being dead yet 
speaketh." Could there be a more fitting close to this 
chapter than to allow that eloquent tongue, now silent in 
the tomb, to plead once more as a voice from out eternity 
in behalf of his beloved people: 

"If fifty years' experience among the Highlanders gives 
authority to speak of them, then I may be granted that 
privilege. For more than fifty years I have traveled among 
them, as soldier, physician and minister. I was brought 
up in a village of churches, and thought all people this side 
of China were equally blessed. Some older people are yet 
laboring under this same delusion. 

"When a young man, I went to Virginia, the land of my 
fathers, to join the army, and rode more than a hundred 
miles across the Cumberland mountains. Although not 
looking for churches or preachers, I do not remember seeing 
a single one. During the year I crossed those mountains 
several times, and still found no churches. 

"After the war I became a physician and frequently 
rode through those mountains visiting the sick, and still 
found only a church or two in many miles, though there 
were thousands of people with souls. 



156 The Task That Challenges 

"When I became a minister, I naturally remembered 
that country where many of my old comrades lived, 
Christless and churchless, and determined to give them 
what little help I could. In the Synod of Kentucky I 
found a mighty champion for these long neglected people 
— the Rev. Dr. Stuart Robinson, a man who believed the 
Gospel was for "every creature" in "all the world." 
Through his influence largely the missions to the moun- 
tains were inaugurated by the Synod of Kentucky, over 
twenty years ago, and I was honored by being called from 
the First church of Louisville to serve the Synod as Evan- 
gelist. I thought I had some idea of the vast destitution 
of the mountain regions, but when I entered the work I 
was amazed to find a region as large as the German Em- 
pire, practically without churches, Sabbath schools or 
qualified teachers; whole counties with tens of thousands 
of people, who had never seen a church or heard a Gospel 
sermon they could understand ; and there are thousands of 
them yet. 

"They are not a degenerate people. They are a brave, 
independent, high-spirited people, whose poverty and loca- 
tion have isolated them from the advantages of education 
and religion. They have been simply passed by in the 
march of progress in this great age because they were out 
of the way. The world to-day — even our own people — 
know more of China and Japan than of these neighbors, 
our contemporaries of the seventeenth and eighteenth cen- 
turies. 

"No railroads or any other kind of roads invited travelers, 
scholars or preachers into the solitudes of their mountain 
homes. The inevitable result has been the want of those 
blessings which education and religion bring, churches and 
schools. With the fewest exceptions, there are none of 
either. In the largest county in the Cumberlands, when I 
entered it, there was not a church in the whole county, and 
the only school in its capital was taught in the court- 



Mission Schools 157 

house. One of our oldest evangelists and a mountain 
man, after a tour through a large section, said: 'Of all the 
destitutions I have ever seen, this excels all. Not a Bible 
or a Christian did I find.' 

"I have no hesitancy in saying that this is the largest 
body of white people on this continent who are practically 
without the Gospel. And I do not know any people who 
will make greater sacrifices to hear it. I have known them 
to walk from five to ten miles over their rough mountain 
roads to hear the Gospel, and sit on the ground and rough 
boards from 9 in the morning till 4 in the afternoon, with 
only a brief intermission at noon. Though without edu- 
cation, they are naturally bright, and easily comprehend 
and gladly receive the Gospel message; and when con- 
verted, are as faithful as any others under similar condi- 
tions. To their honor be it said, I have never seen an infidel 
among them. 

"We believe in Foreign Missions, but we also believe in 
'beginning at Jerusalem.' These are the 'heathen at our 
doors.' Their souls are worth as much as others. They 
are more easily reached. It costs less than half to reach 
them. The results are quicker, because their language is 
our own. Their traditions, history and ancestors are the 
same as our own. The consequences of their conversion 
are greater. They will furnish teachers, ministers and 
missionaries to the heathen abroad. 

"After fifty years' knowledge of this people, and twenty- 
five years' labor among them as a minister, I was con- 
vinced that all agencies now employed or available by 
neighboring churches would never reach them in this gen- 
eration, or maybe in a dozen generations. So I appealed to 
all Christian people who loved their own countrymen to 
help save them. The response was such as only God could 
inspire. From every branch of the Church and every sec- 
tion of our country and beyond it, even from China and the 



158 The Task That Challenges 

Sandwich Islands, God has raised up loving hearts and 
liberal hands to help. 

"In ten years 362 missionaries have labored exclusively 
in these wild mountains. They made 51,000 visits, held 
over 22,000 public services at 10,069 places, had 6,304 con- 
versions, taught 879 Bible schools, with 39,456 pupils, 
distributed over 250 boxes and barrels of clothing to the 
poor, over 10,000 Bibles and Testaments, and 125,000 
tracts, built 56 churches, schools and mission houses, in- 
cluding three academies, an Orphan Asylum and two hos- 
pitals. 

"These people belong to the ruling race of the world, 
and are worthy to belong to it. They certainly should have 
an equal chance for the blessings of religion and education 
with the Asiatics and Africans. They have not had it in 
the past. For our Missions are but lighthouses yet, on 
the shores of a continent of darkness." 



VIII. 

AMERICA, THE MELTING POT. 

"Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet, 
Till earth and sky stand presently at God's great judgment seat; 
But there is neither East nor West, border, nor breed, nor birth, 
When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the 
end of the earth." 

From a cosmopolitan standpoint, East and West have 
been during the ages past recognized as distinct and fixed 
types, justifying the sentiment of the poet; but modern 
transportation has annihilated space, blotted out the points 
of the compass, and made all the world neighbors, unto the 
uttermost parts of the earth; while modern migration, by 
pouring into America the blood of all nations, is reversing 
the confusion of Babel, and uniting once again the hitherto 
discordant dialects of earth into the speech of the Anglo- 
Saxon, and transforming these heterogeneous peoples into 
the composite and cosmopolitan American. 

America, the Product of Immigration. 

The history of the United States is largely a history of 
immigration. It began with the landing of our forefathers 
at Jamestown, at New Amsterdam, at Plymouth Rock, 
and at Charleston, and from that date America has been 
the Mecca of all nations, the refuge of the oppressed, the 
asylum of religious liberty, the land of opportunity, the 
Melting Pot. ' 'America's ports are like swinging doors. 
Through them is passing in and out an ever-increasing 
number of the earth's inhabitants." Allured by promises 
of plenty, the hungry hordes of the Old World sacrifice 
their scanty earthly possessions, actuated by one ambition 
— the desire to accumulate enough to pay their passage to 



160 The Task That Challenges 

America. Disappointed in some of their expectations, or 
overcome with a longing desire to revisit the land of their 
nativity, many return, bearing the news of America's great- 
ness and golden harvests, incidentally spreading the con- 
tagion of the immigration spirit. Like the tidal wave roll- 
ing along the beach, it may at times recede, but only to re- 
turn with increasing volume and irresistible impetus, to 
reach a still higher water mark. 

Other nations, England leading the van, under the in- 
fluence of the colonizing habit, enter all open doors, by 
sending their sons and daughters to form new settlements, 
whose influence and trade relations glorify and enrich the 
fatherland. Not so, America; she has comparatively no 
over-crowded communities needing to swarm, no oppressed 
needing relief, no sons and daughters to spare; but, on the 
contrary throwing wide her portals, she invites the nations 
of the world to colonize in her midst, if they but swear 
allegiance to her flag, accept her institutions, and are 
willing to be transmuted into American citizens; and thus 
she draws into her veins the life-blood of the world. 

The Immigrant Tide. 

It was not until 1820 that any accurate record was kept 
of the incoming army of aliens; but since that time the 
number has been steadily increasing, until in 1907, it 
reached the zenith, when there came 1,285,349. During 
the past hundred years 30,000,000 have entered our open 
doors; and the recent census reveals the fact that there are 
living among us to-day 16,000,000 of foreign birth and 
as many more of foreign parentage, which accounts for 
about one-third our population, leaving out of calculation 
the 10,000,000 Negroes. If the inhabitants of the United 
States should pass a given point in line, every third man 
would be a foreigner or the son of a foreigner. 

The financial panic of 1907 turned backward the tide 
temporarily, but the current is again rising; and in 1910 



America, The Melting Pot 161 

it once more passed the million mark by 41,507, an immense 
multitude, representing all classes and conditions, and 
forty-one nationalities. Only by comparison can we ob- 
tain any comprehension of this vast army. Arizona and 
New Mexico, the two states last admitted to the Union, 
have a combined population of 531,655; and yet we added 
a contingent of foreign citizenship in one year of twice 
their population combined. If Boston and Baltimore 
were suddenly blotted out of existence, in twelve months 
our incoming immigrants could repopulate both cities. 
Of our forty-eight states, seventeen have a population less 
than the number we added by immigration in 1910; while 
Connecticut, Maryland, West Virginia, Nebraska and 
Washington have each less than the year 1907 gave us. 
If they should join hands, these immigrants each year would 
reach from Atlanta to Baltimore, or nearly across the great 
state of Texas. If they should stand within shouting 
distance of each other, they could easily deliver a message 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific. If they marched in single 
file by any given spot at the rate of five each minute, it 
would require six months for the procession to pass, travel- 
ing day and night. 

The Invading Army. 

History mentions the invasion of the Goths and the 
Vandals as one of the greatest movements of ancient or 
modern times. Yet the army that invaded America in 
1907 was greater than the estimated number of those that 
swept over Southern Europe and devastated Rome. 
Speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, A. D. 
70, Josephus estimates that the number who perished 
during the siege was 1,100,000; and this he adds ' 'exceeded 
all the destruction that either men or God ever brought 
upon the world" — a vast multitude, but not so many as 
there were immigrants in this one year. It is said that 
forty-six nations marched beneath the ensign of the Persian 



162 The Task That Challenges 

king, Xerxes, and his land and naval forces aggregated 
2,315,000. Herodotus says that the Hellespont groaned 
for seven days and seven nights beneath the weight of the 
human tide that Asia was pouring into Europe. Yet 
these numbers are surpassed many thousands by the 
fifty nations represented in the multitude that entered 
our gates in the two years of 1906 and 1907. 

Why they come, and why the stream sometimes widens 
and sometimes narrows, though never ceasing, is largely 
determined by economic conditions here and abroad. 
The famine in Ireland, the industrial depression in Ger- 
many, the exorbitant taxation in Italy, the religious per- 
secution in Russia, the enforced military service, depriving 
families of their bread winners, and the overcrowded 
cities and low wages in most European countries, drive 
them out from their ancestral homes. On the other 
hand, the exaggerated reports of American abundance 
deepen the dissatisfaction of the Old World poor with their 
unbearable conditions, and cause them to turn their eyes 
longingly to our favored land, and sigh for its freedom and 
opportunity. In addition to these motives, the great 
steamship companies maintain hundreds of agents through- 
out Europe to circulate glowing accounts of American 
prosperity, under the necessity of packing their steerage 
decks like cattle, to increase their earnings. In the lan- 
guage of the Commissioner of Immigration, these millions 
"are drawn hither by the free institutions and marvelous 
prosperity of our country — the chance here afforded every 
honest toiler to gain a livelihood by the sweat of his brow 
or the exercise of his intelligence." Oppression pushes, 
and opportunity pulls; so they come, 3,500 a day, 100,000 
a month, and more than 1,000,000 a year. 

Careful students of this question tell us that there is 
every reason to believe that the immigration temporarily 
affected by the European war will at its close break all 
records in a flood tide which will perhaps pour upon our 



America, The Melting Pot 163 

shores as many . as two million people annually. The 
countries of the Old World are becoming more and more 
crowded, and are unable to support their population com- 
fortably; while America is a land of room and of plenty. 
It is said that Europe alone could send us 3,000,000 a 
year, 300,000,000 this century, and yet increase the source 
of supply; but this statement will perhaps hold true only 
after the continent has sufficiently recovered from the 
present devastating war. 

Who Are They, and Whence Do They Cornel 

Until 1880 more than three-fifths of the immigration 
was from the British Isles and Northern Europe; but now 
75 per cent, comes from Southern Europe. This is called 
the "new immigration," because the source, the motives, 
the customs, the character and the ideals of this stream 
are flooding our cities with an entirely different type, and 
introducing a new problem for the solution of the thought- 
ful. Italy leads all the countries of the world, their con- 
tribution to our citizenship averaging 200,000 a year 
and occasionally exceeding that number. Russia and Aus- 
tria-Hungary furnish us each 160,000. To stand at our 
open ports and take account of the nationalities knocking 
for admittance would be to call the roll of all the countries 
of the world — a vast conglomeration, a confusion of tongues 
that would drown the tower of Babel incident in this 
greater Bedlam: Bohemians, Bulgarians, Bosnians, Bel- 
gians, Magyars, Moravians, Montenegrins, Servians, 
Slovaks, Slovenes, Swiss, Swedes, Roumanians, Russians, 
Poles, Prussians, Ruthenians, Italians, Lithuanians, Her- 
zegovinians, Hungarians, Finns, Flemish, Croathians, 
Dalmatians, Dutch, Greeks and Jews — aliens from the 
Commonwealth of America and strangers from the cove- 
nants of our fathers. Are we able to digest and assimilate 
this heterogeneous mass, and transform them into Ameri- 
cans and Christians? Beyond the seas they were con- 



164 The Task That Challenges 

fronted with the problem of living; transplanted into our 
midst they have forced upon us the problem of our national 
and ecclesiastical life. 

"These peoples whom we are now so largely drawing 
constitute a real invading army. They bring with them 
standards and ideals which are vastly different from our 
own. Their habits, customs, institutions, ways of living, 
are altogether un-American. It is interesting to try to 
imagine what kind of a place the United States would now 
be if the Poles had founded Boston, if the Italians had 
settled Virginia, if the Slovaks had colonized New York , 
if the Lithuanians had established Philadelphia, and the 
Jews had been pioneers in the Great West. Such flights 
of fancy may help us to imagine what the United States is 
liable to become if the present order of affairs continues." 
— (The Incoming Millions.) 

"Unguarded Gates" 

No wonder Thomas Bailey Aldrich rang the alarm: 

"Wide open and unguarded stand our gates, 
And through them press a wild, motley throng, 
Men from the Volga and the Tartan steppes, 
Featureless figures of the Hoang-Ho, 
Malayan, Scythian, Teuton, Kelt and Slav, 
Fleeing the Old World's poverty and scorn. 

"These, bringing with them unknown gods and rites; 
Those, tiger passions, here to stretch their claws. 
In street and alley what strange tongues are loud, 
Accents of malice alien to our air, 
Voices that once the Tower of Babel knew! 

"O, Liberty! White Goddess, is it well 
To leave thy gates unguarded! On thy breast 
Fold Sorrow's children, soothe the hurts of fate, 
Lift the down-trodden; but with hand of steel 
Stay those who to thy sacred portals come 
To waste the gifts of freedom. 



America, The Melting Pot 165 

"Have a care 
Lest from thy brow the clustered stars be torn 
And trampled in the dust. For so of old 
The thronging Goth and Vandal trampled Rome; 
And where the temples of the Caesars stood 
The lean wolf, unmolested, makes his lair." 

In view of these facts, consider the peril of immigration, 
a menace to our country, our children, and our Church. 
Either we must assimilate these multitudes, or they will 
still further corrupt our politics, already approaching the 
danger line. Either we must educate them, or they will 
destroy the foundations upon which our free institutions 
rest. Either we must evangelize them, or they will paganize 
our children and our children's children. The peril lies 
not so much in their number as in the character of this 
invasion. The danger is due to the quality rather than 
the quantity. In colonial times and until recent years, 
the incoming thousands were from Great Britain, Ger- 
many, and certain sections of Northern Europe. Since 
1880 they have been coming from Southern and Eastern 
Europe, and from the depths of Asia. The former were 
of our own blood and tongue, the same in thought and 
training as the founders of our country. So long as the 
tide of immigration continues to be of the same stock as 
the original, all is well; but when Southern Europe and 
Asia open their flood gates and begin to pour forth their 
countless millions, it gives us pause and constrains us to 
look to the future with apprehension. 

In recent years 30 per cent, of the aliens admitted, over 
fourteen years old, could neither read nor write. During 
the year ending June 30, 1910, an army of 312,000 illiterates, 
not counting the children under fourteen years of age en- 
tered this land of the free. Just imagine a population of 
312,000, with no use whatever for books, or paper, or print- 
ing press — a number that would make a city the size of 
Cincinnati or New Orleans. 



166 The Task That Challenges 

The security of a republic rests upon the intelligence of 
the people. "In every republic," says Dr. Strong, "there 
is a dead line of ignorance and immorality, and when the 
average citizen sinks below that line, free institutions 
perish." With an army of 312,000 representing the ignor- 
ance, the ideals, and the poverty of the misgoverned coun- 
tries of the Old World, being annually added to the millions 
of the same kind already here, how long will it require for 
America to reach the danger line? 

Of the thirty-eight largest cities in the United States, 
thirty- three have a majority of foreigners or those of foreign 
parentage, being practically foreign cities on American 
soil. If one visits London, he finds English people; in 
Paris, he finds French people, and in Berlin, Germans; 
but New York, Chicago, St. Louis, New Orleans, and other 
American cities contain everything else but Americans. 
The census of 1910 gave New York 1,926,900 of foreign 
birth, with perhaps as many of foreign parentage. If 
these aliens distributed themselves throughout the country, 
our problem would be comparatively easy, and our peril 
less; but segregated in our cities as "Little Italy," "Little 
Poland," etc., they resist assimilation into the body 
politic. 

"A mere glance at the statistics referring to the destina- 
tion of those who came last year tells the story of where 
most of them settled. Of the 1,000,000 admitted, 280,000 
gave as their destination New York. Most of them will 
go no farther than greater New York City — another con- 
tribution to that heterogeneous mass of humanity already 
more than 5,000,000 strong. Four-fifths of the present 
population of that city are of foreign parentage or birth. 
Thirty-nine different languages are spoken on the streets 
every day, and newspapers are printed in eleven of them. 
More than a million of this number are Jews. It is said 
that more Jews land in New York City every five years 
than all the combined membership of its Protestant 



America, The Melting Pot 167 

churches. There are 500,000 Italians, and more Germans 
than in any city of Germany except Berlin. There are 
twice as many Irish as in Dublin, and a large proportion 
of other nationalities. The alien vote of the city pre- 
dominates. In fact, there are in the city 90,000 more 
foreign voters than native born." — (Modern Migration.) 

"A short ramble in New York's East Side takes you 
through various colonies. By crossing the Bowery you 
enter first the vast Jewish colony, and then walking on, 
find yourself in Italy; going northeast, you enter Ger- 
many; circling around to the south, you pass through a 
Negro settlement, and a section of Ireland, until you come 
to Syria; if you continue your tour you may visit Bohemia, 
China, and Greece. Nor have you exhausted the list. 
You will also find these colonies in our other large cities. 
As Jacob Riis said, the only colony you cannot find in New 
York is a distinctively American colony." — (Incoming 
Millions.) 

Peril to the Church. 

This is anything but reassuring, yet the greatest peril 
of all is that which threatens the Church. Crowding 
into down-town sections of our cities, where the religious 
struggle is already well-nigh hopeless, they force our evan- 
gelical churches to move out, leaving a larger population 
and yet fewer religious forces to cope with the powers of 
evil. 

The majority of these people have been brought up in 
beliefs that are either fundamentally erroneous and full 
of superstitions, or they are infidels and atheistic. At 
least 80 per cent, of our present immigration is non- 
Protestant, being largely Roman and Greek Catholics, 
and Jews, who have brought with them as their contribu- 
tion to our national life "the Continental idea of the 
Sabbath, the nihilist's idea of government, the communist's 



168 The Task That Challenges 

idea of property, the socialist's idea of the family, and the 
Pagan's idea of religion." 

It is the Catholic and the Jew who have driven the 
Bible from our public schools, and forbid its being taught 
to your child and mine. It is the Jew who denies that this 
is a Christian country, either in fact or in purpose. It is 
this combination, helped on by indifferent and careless 
Protestants, that has broken down the Christian Sabbath, 
the hope of the American working man, and has given 
us instead the lawless Continental Sunday, changing God's 
holy day into a reckless, rioting holiday. The Christian 
Sabbath is the bulwark of Christian civilization, and the 
foundation of religious worship. "If the foundations be 
destroyed, what can the righteous do?" 

During the past ten years, through immigration, the 
Catholic Church has grown twice as fast as all the Protest- 
ant churches combined; and the United States statistics 
covering a period of the past fifteen years reveal a Catholic 
increase of 61 per cent, to our Protestant growth of 39 
per cent. There are twelve states in which the Roman 
Catholic outnumbers all the Protestant churches combined. 
This is true of every New England state. In Rhode 
Island, for example, the Roman Catholics have 74 per 
cent, of the total church membership. Protestants are 
in the minority in New York, New Jersey and other 
Northern and Western states. In San Francisco, out of a 
population of half a million, there are only 12,000 Protestant 
church members. In New York City, where a positive 
proportionate decrease of Protestant members in the past 
decade is revealed, the present percentage of church mem- 
bers is 8.55 per cent, of the population. Owing to the 
fact that immigration has not turned Southward in great 
streams, Louisiana is at present the only Southern state 
where Catholics outnumber Protestants; but the tide is 
now turning, and we shall soon be facing the peril which 
threatens the North. 



America, The Melting Pot 169 

Rome has already proclaimed the conquest of America, 
and the Pope has taken the United States out of the cate- 
gory of missionary countries, and classified it as Christian, 
from a Catholic standpoint, along with Spain, Portugal, 
and Italy. Recently three new Cardinals for the United 
States have been created, and the return of one to New 
York after being made "a Prince of the Church" was the 
signal for an ovation, during which 50,000 people stood in 
line four miles long, a mark of honor which perhaps would 
not be accorded to any of the crowned heads of Europe. 
We speak of the bigotry and oppression of Spain and other 
Catholic countries, but do we realize that there are ten 
times as many convents in the United States as there are 
in Spain, and fifty times as many schools, conducted by 
friars, priests and nuns, in which millions of American 
children are being taught their pernicious doctrines! 

Rome makes no secret of her purpose and intention to 
control this stronghold of Protestantism, and immigration 
is placing the means in her hand to enable her to realize 
her ambition. If Rome could have held her emigrant 
children in the past; if we had not been able to evangelize 
multitudes of them ; long since the conquest would have been 
complete. Now the immigrant tide is bearing on its 
bosom Romanism in such force that we are unable to cope 
with it; and worst of all, the Church is either too blind or 
too indifferent to rally her strength and meet "the enemy 
that comes in like a flood." Who can forecast the tre- 
mendous struggle that will probably be waged in this coun- 
try for religious liberty? Who can estimate its influence 
upon the world? If Rome obtains possession of the United 
States, there will be no ' 'evangelization of the world in 
this generation," nor for many generations to come; and 
it may postpone the final triumph of the truth indefinitely. 
"As goes America, so goes the world." 



170 The Task That Challenges 

Compensations that Counterbalance. 

Others more optimistic insist that it is possible to over- 
estimate the danger; or at least that there are compensa- 
tions which counterbalance the peril. Multitudes of 
these immigrants are valuable material in the rough state, 
which may be shaped and polished for building substan- 
tially the fortunes of the future Republic. After due 
investigation, Charles Stelzle asserts: "Dr. Edward A. 
Steiner, who knows more about the human side of the 
immigration problem than any other man in America, 
recently declared that 5,000 strong-limbed, healthy-bodied 
immigrants landing at Ellis Island are more resourceful 
than as many average college graduates would be — and 
Steiner knows, for he is a college professor. They come 
to us, most of these immigrants, after their own countries 
have paid the cost of their education. Robert Watchorn, 
for several years Commissioner of Immigration at Ellis 
Island, once remarked: 'If you give the Italian, the Hun- 
garian and the Russian Jew half a chance, he will make the 
English and the Irish look like thirty cents.' And pre- 
sumably Mr. Watchorn knew what he was talking about, 
for he handled literally millions of immigrants." 

It is not so much the immigrant himself as his child, 
which constitutes our greatest peril. He himself has been 
disciplined in the school of adversity, and is accustomed 
to the role of contributing his share of the world's work in 
return for his daily bread. His child is being moulded 
by the environment of American life and example. Unless 
trained by public school and reached by Sabbath school 
or Church, he will drift into the ranks of the criminal 
classes. Are we to be more concerned about their peril 
to us or our responsibility for them? No man knows the 
conditions better than Stelzle, and he emphasizes this 
aspect of the case: 

"The children of immigrants of the first generation are 



America, The Melting Pot 171 

a greater problem and menace than the immigrant him- 
self. Unrestrained and unrestricted on account of the 
ignorance of parents, and seeing unlawful pleasures abun- 
dant, they often find their way to the saloon, the cheap 
theatre, and even viler places, frequently ending with the 
penitentiary. The criminal classes are largely augmented 
from among these children of respectable, hard-working 
foreigners, and any movement which seeks to help them 
should be heartily supported. 

"Industrial classes and clubs for the boys and girls will 
give them better motives and higher incentives. The 
kindergarten is one of the greatest factors in helping the 
children. Trained to use head and hand and heart aright 
during the years between three and six, these lessons will 
go with them all through life. Incidentally, this ministry 
to the children will win the hearts of the parents, whose 
own lives are brightened by the cheer of the kindergarten 
trophies which are brought home by the child and displayed 
with pride by the older folks. But it is the personal in- 
fluence of the teacher or the leader — unconsciously ex- 
erted — which counts for most in children's work. Im- 
portant, then, to secure men and women of character, 
who may be entrusted with the destinies of those com- 
mitted to their charge." 

Opportunities Unparalleled. 

If there is ground for apprehension in the contempla- 
tion of these hordes invading our country, surely there is 
some compensation in the thought of the unparalleled 
opportunities they present of evangelizing the world 
through their instrumentality. "A million new inhabitants 
annually, means a million new opportunities." It means 
more than that; for each new inhabitant touches a dozen 
at least in some far distant land; and it suggests that God, 
who continually guides the destiny of nations and the move- 
ments of the people, is bringing them to us for some great 



172 The Task That Challenges 

and wise purpose, connected with the advancement of 
His kingdom on earth. 

"Some years ago Dr. Arthur T. Pierson published a 
thrilling book, entitled 'The Crisis of Missions.' The 
Crisis of Missions of his day came with the opening of the 
nations to the Bible and the missionary. Were he writing 
that book to-day, he would doubtless present to us as the 
'Modern Crisis of Missions,' this marvelous inrush of the 
nations to America — a land where already the Bible and 
the Church have been established. This great movement 
of foreign peoples to our country is indeed a much more 
wonderful providence than the opening of Oriental doors. 
It is another great step in world-wide evangelization, and 
carries with it to the Christian Church a mission of in- 
finite proportion, marked by an unequalled opportunity, 
an unavoidable obligation, and an unlimited outcome." — 
(Modern Migration.) 

Scattered among the heathen nations of earth we have 
a vast army of over 100,000 missionaries, including the 
native helpers engaged in their evangelization; and yet 
every time through their ministrations a heathen is con- 
verted, at least ten immigrants land at our ports. In the 
United States, we have over 170,000 ministers of the Gospel 
and over 200,000 churches; and yet every time a convert is 
added to any church at home, at least two aliens come 
from abroad, forever augmenting our task. It is true that 
this influx does not bring all heathen, but many are pagan 
at least in influence, and almost all, even if nominally 
Christian, are thoroughly irreligious. Only 18 per cent, 
of them belong to any evangelical church. Many nominal 
Catholics are overjoyed to throw off all religious restraint. 
Multitudes are worse than heathen, being avowed anar- 
chists, socialists, nihilists, infidels and atheists; but all 
have immortal souls; and their coming to America gives 
to many their first opportunity of coming in contact with 
Christianity and Christ. Is it any wonder that Dr. 



America, The Melting Pot 173 

Robert Stuart MacArthur, pastor of a great metropolitan 
Baptist church of New York, said: "In proportion to terri- 
tory, New York City is the greatest foreign mission field 
on the globe?" Heathenism is invading our country at 
all points. Hindoo temples, Chinese joss houses, Theoso- 
phist circles, and Babist philosophy are in evidence every- 
where; and the battle with heathenism is being transferred 
to America. 

All this constitutes a tremendous risk to our Christian 
life; but shall we admit that Christianity is unable to cope 
with the situation, or shall we lull ourselves to sleep in 
carnal security, fancying that there is no real danger? 
Is not the opportunity of reaching these multitudes worth 
all the risk involved? During the nineteenth century, 
that which characterized the life of the Church was its 
zeal in sending the gospel to the heathen. It may be part 
of our punishment for not sending fast enough that the 
twentieth century is sending the heathen to us in ever 
increasing numbers. It is all too sudden, and the Church 
is too dazed to recognize the changed conditions, but the 
awakening must come. The issues at stake are too great 
to be ignored or neglected. 

The American Missionary Society states the case in 
language as strong as it is striking: 

"The greatest Foreign Mission land on the globe to-day 
is our own America. Here we do not go in search of the 
millions; the millions come to us. We are not compelled 
to learn their language; they are eager to learn ours. We 
are not obliged to conform to alien customs; they are here 
to adopt ours. We are not a little group engulfed in hun- 
dreds of millions of alien faith; we are the majority. Our 
faith is engrained in the very fibre of the government, 
established in the customs of the land. These strangers 
from all the shores of the world are here cut loose from their 
native governments and religious customs. A hiatus 
between the old and the new exists in both their political 



174 The Task That Challenges 

and religious thinking. That hiatus, that pause in thought, 
is the open door for the entrance of new and better things. 
We are not compelled to uproot and displace old established 
beliefs. That process is already begun by the very fact 
of their migration. They are in the pioneering, adventur- 
ous mood. They expect new experiences, different condi- 
tions. This is the great open world-field for the Church. 
While she need not neglect her foreign markets, she must 
not forget hat the markets of the world are pressing to 
her doors, asking for her wares. In stable, office, mill and 
shop these millions are here — Americans in the making." 
This opportunity carries with it a tremendous responsi- 
bility. The Church is beginning to recognize that "oppor- 
tunity is but another way of spelling obligation." All 
the great Protestant churches, through their Home Mission 
Boards, are now entering this field, and Home and Foreign 
Missions have indeed become one in fact as well as in theory. 
To be a foreign missionary now it is no longer necessary to 
leave home. One need but go down town, or perhaps 
just across the street, to touch heathenism in its primitive 
essence. 

Missions of the Presbyterian Church, U. S. 

The limits of this chapter do not permit an extended 
account of the work carried on within the United States 
in well-nigh all the languages of earth, but we can scarcely 
avoid a passing glance at the work of our own Church 
among these foreign-speaking people. Our first Foreign 
Mission work at home, in point of time and in extent of 
operations, was in behalf of the Mexicans in Texas, at one 
time carried on exclusively within the bounds of one 
presbytery, but that one the largest in territory in our 
Assembly. 

The Presbytery of Western Texas embraces fifty large 
counties, covering an area of 70,740 square miles, and con- 
taining a population of nearly a half million people. It is 



America, The Melting Pot 175 

as large in area as the states of Virginia and West Virginia 
together. Roughly estimated, it measures in straight 
lines three hundred miles north and south and five hundred 
miles from northwest to southeast. In fact, it can be 
said that it has no western boundary — it can take in the 
entire Republic of Mexico. 

Bordering on a foreign country for the length of seven 
hundred miles, situated as it is at "the meeting of the 
waters," and with a heterogeneous population, the diffi- 
culties and the importance of its Home missionary work 
cannot be exaggerated. The distinction between Home 
and Foreign Missions cannot be consistently maintained 
where only a river separates the two. Beyond the Rio 
Grande, we call the work among the Mexicans "Foreign 
Missions," and on this side we classify it as "Home Mis- 
sions"; but the work, no matter how designated, is for the 
same people, speaking the same language, with the same 
human needs ; and the effort is to give them the same gospel. 
Whether for our weal or woe, certainly for their intellectual 
benefit and temporal well-being, the Mexicans are coming 
into the United States in ever-increasing numbers, the 
number in Texas being estimated now at not less than 
450,000. 

There are towns on the border where the English lan- 
guage is rarely spoken; there are county schools where the 
children learn more Spanish than English. There are 
in the state more than a dozen newspapers published in 
Spanish. In San Antonio, the metropolis of Southwestern 
Texas, there are more than 30,000 Mexicans, with 30,000 
more in the surrounding country immediately adjacent. 
In one of the largest public schools of the city there are 
more Mexican pupils than American. 

Texas-Mexican Missions. 

The Mexican work was organized when the Presbytery 
of Western Texas ordained and installed an evangelist 



176 The Task That Challenges 

in April, 1892. At that time we had but one church with 
fifty-nine members. This original church at San Marcos, 
Texas, has increased to four churches in the surrounding 
country, with a membership of nearly four hundred. Each 
church has its Sabbath School, Young People's Society, 
and Woman's Missionary Society. Services are held every 
Sabbath, conducted by elders in the absence of pastor. 
Each congregation has its own house of worship, the mem- 
bers themselves doing most of the work in their construc- 
tion. As instances of the zeal and consecration of our 
Mexican elders, two illustrations will suffice: One elder 
goes nearly every Sabbath sixteen miles on horseback to 
church to conduct Sunday school and services, while an- 
other goes once a month seventy-five miles in his own con- 
veyance, at his own expense, and without any pecuniary 
remuneration, to hold services for a week or ten days. 

This work has been so marvelously blessed of God that 
in 1908 the Synod of Texas organized these Mexican 
churches into the Texas-Mexican Presbytery, which to- 
day contains twenty-two churches, has seventeen mis- 
sionaries, twelve hundred communicants, and sixteen 
chapels, with property valued at $50,000. Recently an 
industrial school has been erected at Kingsville, Texas, 
where Mrs. King donated several hundred acres of land 
for the purpose, and where a suitable plant must be erected 
at a cost of not less than $25,000 to educate the Mexican 
youth for future leadership in the Church and for intelligent 
citizenship in the state. 

The Texas-Mexican Presbytery conducts annually a 
camp-meeting attended by more than 1,000 Mexicans, 
resulting usually in the conversion of forty or fifty persons. 
Additions to its churches annually exceed the number 
added to the average American Presbytery. This is the 
most successful mission work undertaken by any denomina- 
tion for the Mexicans, and the credit is largely due to the 
faithful work of Rev. Walter S. Scott and Rev. R. D. 



America, The Melting Pot 177 

Campbell and our native pastors. More recently Rev. C. 
R. Womeldorf has established a substantial mission for 
Mexicans at El Paso, Texas. 

French. 

Missionary work is conducted for foreign-speaking people 
in various other cities. In New Orleans there are two 
German churches, which began as missionary enterprises, 
but are now self-supporting. In the same city we have an 
Italian Mission with two Sabbath schools, a French church 
in the city, and several missions in the state among the 
400,000 French-speaking people. But there are yet eight 
counties without a Protestant church, and several with 
only one. A Hungarian church has been organized at 
Arpadhon, La., which has its own building and a native 
Hungarian pastor. Mission Sabbath schools are conducted 
also for the Chinese and the Syrians, the latter in charge of 
Mrs. Mogobgob, principal of a public school in Louisiana, 
where the reading text-book is the Arabic Bible. 

Italian. 

In Kansas City, Mo., an Italian Mission was begun 
July 6, 1908. It has a plant valued at $16,000, a native 
Italian pastor, with an average attendance at Sabbath 
school of 125; kindergarten, 30; and a sewing school, » 
boy's club, girl's club, cooking class, and English class. 

In the Birmingham District of Alabama we have an : 
Italian Mission at Ensley and at Pratt City, with day 
school, kindergarten, night school for adults, Sabbath 
school, and preaching by a native Italian pastor. 

Cuban. 

In Tampa, Fla., among 20,000 Cubans, we have estab- > 
lished a successful mission, in charge of the Rev. Eladio 
Hernandez, a native Cuban pastor, with a Sabbath school 



178 



The Task That Challenges 



SAMPLES OF 
FOREIGN MISSIONS 
IN AMERICA 




Little 
Foreigners 
in the 
Birmingham 
District. 



Playtime at the 
Cuban Mission, 
Ybor City, Fla. 



America, The Melting Pot 179 

reaching at one time an enrollment of 247, a Christian 
Endeavor Society, and gospel services twice a week, largely 
attended. The services are conducted in cheap tempor- 
ary structure. Its great need for a successful prosecution 
of the work, at the present time, is a proper equipment. 

Bohemian and Others. 

In the state of Virginia we have a regularly organized 
church near Petersburg, for the Bohemians, and its native 
pastor is Rev. J. A. Kohout, who has established Missions 
at several other promising points. In his absence, con- 
ducting services at other mission stations, the elders very 
acceptably fill his place, conducting religious worship for 
the people. A Russian church has been organized at 
Hopewell, Va., where the work was started by Mr. Kohout, 
with Rev. George Philipsky as native pastor. Rev. 
Benjamin Csutoros is engaged in missionary work among 
the Hungarians at Norton, Va., and other nearby stations, 
where a good work has been built up. Rev. E. E. Von 
Pechy is laboring among the Hungarians in the camps in 
the vicinity of Holden, W. Va. As the men move from 
place to place, it is hard to conserve results, but a sub- 
stantial work is being maintained. 

A Syrian Mission is conducted in Atlanta, Ga., in care of 
Miss Helen Burbank, which has a flourishing Sunday 
school, and various week-day activities. 

Only within the past few years has the Executive Com- 
mittee in Atlanta felt justified in enlarging its work among 
these foreign-speaking people, and yet at the present time 
it is supporting, in whole or in part, eighty missionaries 
among them, and preaching the gospel in eleven different 
languages — perhaps as many as were miraculously spoken 
by the Apostles on the day of Pentecost. 

It is very evident that, if the same amount of money 
were expended on these foreigners in our midst that we 
are expending on those beyond the seas, if the same num- 



180 The Task That Challenges 

ber of consecrated missionaries would but dedicate their 
life to this work, and if we would but meet them in the 
same spirit that characterized the attitude of Christ 
toward the needy, the world would be amazed at the results. 
The following is but a specimen of many similar cases: 
"In Italy and Sicily to-day there are no less than sixteen 
Protestant churches organized by people who have been 
taught the Word of God in America. Two of these 
churches are the direct results of United Presbyterian 
influences, one at Altavilla Topina, near Naples, the other 
at Castel del Piendice, about one hundred and fifty miles 
east of Rome. These churches were started by men con- 
verted in the United Presbyterian Missions of America. 
We are told that they are the means of beginning and fos- 
tering religious work and life in their respective communi- 
ties, and that their services are well attended and much in- 
terest shown. It has developed that the work being done 
in one of our cities by a sister denomination has been the 
means of establishing two Italian Protestant churches in 
Italy, which, in turn, have been instrumental in establish- 
ing two other Italian Missions in this country, through 
their members coming to America. All over Europe simi- 
lar results of American Christian Mission Work abound." 
— (Modern Migration.) 

Our Church has assumed a responsibility for twenty- 
five million heathen. Is there any reason why we should 
not find some of these among the thirty millions in the 
United States who are either of foreign birth or foreign 
parentage? In saving the heathen among us we are sav- 
ing our own Nation, which it is estimated will number 
500,000,000 before the close of the present century. 

Returning as Foreign Missionaries. 

If the influx of these myriads challenge the Church by 
reason of the opportunity presented at our own door, 
how much grander is the opportunity to reach through 



America, The Melting Pot 181 

them all the kindreds of earth, related to our Nation 
by reason of their incorporation into our body politic. 
The possibility of a reflex influence on the country from 
which they come is incalculable. Every year at least 20 
per cent, return to their former home, and statistics show 
that in one year 450,000 returned, carrying impressions 
of America and of Christianity, or the lack of it. None of 
them returned exactly the same as when they came. 
Contact with Western civilization and Protestantism has 
changed them for better or for worse. They return carry- 
ing the new lessons learned, the new impressions received, 
and new thoughts stirring within them, to become mission- 
aries for good or for evil. In mountain villages far from 
seaport, or into the heart of the great throbbing centers of 
crowded cities, these returned immigrants carry the in- 
fluence of their residence in America, whether the paralyz- 
ing touch of saloon and gambling den, the inspiration of 
modern business methods and public schools, or the touch 
of a new and higher Christian life. 

It is said, ''American ideals, like leaven, keep Europe 
in a turmoil." What is the explanation of the transforma- 
tion of Japan, with its great daily press, magnificent pub- 
lic school system, railroads, telegraph, electric cars, and 
every contrivance of modern civilization? The flower of 
Japanese youth, educated in America, has electrified that 
Nation. W 7 hat is the meaning of China's revolution and 
republican ideals but the new inspiration from contact 
with Western life and thought? Sun Yet Sen, the first 
President of the Chinese Republic, makes the remarkable 
statement that of the seventeen leaders associated with 
him in China's Revolution, fifteen of them were educated 
in the United States or Great Britain; and China has com- 
plimented the United States by adopting the Constitution 
of Oklahoma, modified to suit the needs of this great East- 
ern Republic. 

What means the uprising in Turkey, Spain, Portugal, 



182 The Task That Challenges 

and other European provinces but the spirit of American 
independence and ideals now beginning to pervade all 
classes? If the reflex of the American public school 
system can transform "the unchanging empire of the 
Orient" and the dead communities of Europe, why should 
not the Gospel of Christ leaven the mass of immigration, 
and by means of it realize the modern dream of missionary 
aspiration, "the evangelization of the world in this genera- 
tion?" From a human standpoint, it is the only feasible 
possibility. 

Edward Steiner, who aroused the country by his book, 
"On the Trail of the Immigrant," to the conditions sur- 
rounding him here in his new home, has startled the Church 
in the companion treatise, "The Immigrant Tide," as he 
permits us to see the conditions created in all European 
villages by the presence of these quondam Americans. 
He is authority for the statement that one can travel two 
thousand miles in Eastern Europe and Western Asia and 
not find a village in which there is not at least one Ameri- 
can citizen. "Baron Levy was about to address a political 
meeting in a little Slovak village. He had scarcely be- 
gun before he was requested to speak English, as the in- 
habitants did not know Magyar. Seeking an explanation, 
the baron found that 80 per cent, of the population of 
3,000 were returned immigrants from America." Steiner 
describes the transformation of his native village in the 
Carpathian Mountains, once the most unprogressive, but 
now through the influence of returned immigrants throb- 
bing with American business methods and ideals. In 
some instances during his visit to this section, he heard 
men preaching the evangelical gospel with a fiery eloquence 
unsurpassed anywhere, as the result of their contact with 
Protestant Christianity in America. He challenges the 
churches of the United States to take advantage of their 
opportunity by evangelizing our foreigners, in order that 
as they scatter throughout all countries they may evan- 
gelize the world. 



America, The Melting Pot 183 

. i 

One or two illustrations will serve to show the benefit 
of this reflex work. A convert in our Italian Mission in 
New Orleans has returned to his home in Sicily and opened 
a mission there. The lamented Dr. A. T. Graybill stated 
that his church at Linares, Mexico, was founded largely 
through the influence of a Mexican converted in one of 
our Mexican churches in Texas. 

Dr. Ward Piatt furnished a striking illustration: "Chinese 
Christians in one denomination in this country, at their 
own initiative and expense, opened and maintain a Chris- 
tian Mission in China. When we consider the future of 
Japan and China as related to the coming kingdom, is it 
not providential that on our own shores we may so deal 
with our Eastern brothers as to produce results more far- 
reaching than with the same number in China itself? Is 
not a fair gauge of how much we care about saving our 
brother across the sea, the interest we take in him when he 
is here?" The world-wide influence of Pentecost was due 
to the fact that "there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, 
devout men, out of every nation under heaven." The 
messages of the Apostle were repeated everywhere, and the 
seeds of divine truth were scattered to the four winds of 
heaven to germinate and bear fruit in every clime. 

These returning immigrants are all missionaries, per- 
haps not in our acceptance of the term, for no church 
authorizes them to speak for it, and no denomination 
would stand for their message to their kindred; but they 
are our messengers, whether we will or no. Few tell of 
the love of Christ that radiated in the lives of Christian 
people, who gave them the friendly grasp of hand, and 
echoed the words of Christ. What will the vast majority 
tell of the neglect of the church to touch them for good, 
of the sham and hypocrisy of formal Christianity, of the 
slums of our cities reeking with filth and saturated with 
wickedness! Is it any wonder that our foreign missionaries 
dread the American traveler and the returned immigrants? 



184 The Task That Challenges 

How can we expect to evangelize the world if we send out 
at our expense comparatively few missionaries to other 
nations, while we are sending at their own expense thou- 
sands of others to contradict our missionaries and hinder 
them in their efforts to evangelize the world? 

Rev. Chas. E. Schaeffer, Secretary of Home Missions 
of the Reformed Church in the United States, in his ad- 
mirable treatise entitled, "Our Home Mission Work," 
furnishes this incident showing the neutralizing influence of 
unevangelized America on the heathen nations: 

"The impact of our American life upon the nations of 
the world is of tremendous significance. We preach a 
gospel not only by the missionaries we send into all the 
world, but by the forces of our civilization, by trade and 
commerce, by our attitude and temper, by the impact of 
our whole modern life. 

"Some years ago the Japanese Government, under the 
splendid influence of the missionaries of that country, 
was preparing to adopt Christianity as the national re- 
ligion of the Empire. Before doing so, however, it sent a 
commission of Japanese to this country to study Chris- 
tianity at first hand. They visited the various portions 
of our country. They studied life in our cities, in our places 
of business, in our great industries, as also in our schools, 
churches, and homes. They were deeply impressed, and 
reported to their Government that Christianity was ideal 
in theory, but that it did not work in practice. There- 
upon the Japanese Government declared that the time 
had not yet come to adopt Christianity as its national re- 
ligion. The attitude of the people in America thus tem- 
porarily counteracted the influence of the missionaries 
whom the American churches are supporting in that 
Oriental country. 

"America, therefore, holds the key to the world's Chris- 
tianization. America is the agent under God to bring 
the gospel to all the world. America is the golden goblet 



America, The Melting Pot 185 

for the bringing of the water of life to the famishing na- 
tions of the world. America is the golden candlestick that 
is to carry the Light of Life to the people that sit in dark- 
ness." 

Why not take advantage of our opportunity, and recog- 
nize our responsibility for the messengers going out from 
America? Why not change the character of the messenger, 
and inspire their messages? The Christian church to- 
day has an opportunity to send to the people of these far- 
away lands messages of hope and faith and love. No such 
chance ever came to a church before. It has been said 
that the manner in which American Christianity deals 
with the religious problem of immigration will determine 
what part America is to have in the evangelization of the 
nations abroad. 

"It would not be possible in any other way for the 
Church of Christ to send to the world millions of mis- 
sionaries, especially qualified to reach the needy masses. 
These are thoroughly acquainted with the languages and 
temperament of the people of the different countries. 
They are versed in the most tactful way of approaching 
them, and have an open door into hearts and homes. The 
Church could not secure such valuable workers even were 
she able to bear the expense. But here are thousands and 
thousands of men and women thus fitted, and at their own 
expense, reaching unto the uttermost parts of the earth. 
Had they all the one essential — the love of Christ in their 
heart — what a mighty world uplift! We can send no 
missionaries equal in power and influence to the blood re- 
lation, with the love of God in his heart, and Christian 
principles in his head. By neglecting these people a mar- 
velous opportunity has been lost. Let us hasten to reach 
these millions with the gospel ere they return, and they in 
turn will enlighten the world. Here is the God-given key 
to 'the evangelization of the world in this generation.' " 
— (Modern Migration.) 



186 The Task That Challenges 

Transmitting Christ's Compassion. 

"But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with 
compassion on them, because they fainted, and were 
scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd." Like a 
flashlight this language of inspiration reveals the attitude 
of Christ toward human need. The seething, surging, 
wretched, scattered multitudes "as sheep having no shep- 
herd" moved his compassion. It was the same compas- 
sion which influenced him in eternity past to disrobe him- 
self of his glory, step down from his throne, and enter the 
arena as the Champion of wrong, and for the relief of need, 
"bearing our sorrows and carrying our griefs." Now, 
seated on the throne of the universe, he looks down with 
the same compassion on still greater multitudes. 

Yet he has no hands to touch fevered brows, except 
your hands. He has no feet "to bring glad tidings of 
good things" except your feet. He has no voice except 
yours to express his love and utter the sweet invitation, 
"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden." 
Are we willing to be instruments, hands, feet, and voice, 
channels of blessing, that his compassion through us may 
touch these immigrants, strangers in a strange land, 
"scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd," in order 
that for us and for Christ, they may touch the life of the 
whole wide world? 



IX. 
THE COUNTRY CHURCH AND RURAL LIFE. 

At the request of the Permanent Committee of Sys- 
tematic Beneficence, the Executive Secretary of Home 
Missions prepared a pamphlet on the subject of the Coun- 
try Church, which was published by order of the General 
Assembly, with its quasi endorsement, for distribution and 
the use of its ministry. In the light of suggestion, friendly 
criticism, and further research, this pamphlet is hereby 
revised, greatly enlarged, and incorporated as a chapter 
in this treatise on Home Missions, in the hope that it may 
stimulate further interest in the subject as a contribution 
to the quickening of country church life. 

Changed conditions, economic, social, educational, moral, 
and religious, are from every angle tremendously affecting 
modern life. A new era, dominated by new thought, new 
problems, new environs, and new ideals has created a new 
world of thought and life. It is as if the old dispensation 
had passed away and a new dispensation had been ushered 
in. Strictly speaking, the law of evolution knows no "ar- 
rested development," because it cannot halt. Its opera- 
tions must result in the "survival of the fittest," or follow 
the line of least resistance along the down grade of de- 
generation. This is true alike of an individual and of a 
community. 

The Question Stated. 

Whether for better or for worse, leadership has passed 
from the country. Once it contained the mass of the 
people. Now, like a magnet, the city is attracting not 
simply the floating population, but the mechanical genius, 
the business skill and the intellectual talent of the coun- 
try. Only one class is left to the country; and the farmer 



188 The Task That Challenges 

himself is being either crowded out, or being transformed 
into the tenant. Once the grammar school educated 
leaders whose statesmanship molded the thought and 
guided the destiny of the Nation. Now the public school 
system furnishes for the country only the primary and 
secondary grades. Once the country church, pastored by 
the highest type of intellectual and spiritual ministry, 
influenced the national life, setting the standard of morals 
and leading great revivals, which resulted in religious up- 
heavals reaching to the remotest nooks and corners of the 
country. Now the country church is disintegrating, and 
is ceasing to be a controlling factor in the religious life of 
the Nation. Its main effort is to perpetuate its existence. 
The sceptre of leadership, moral, intellectual and spiritual, 
is passing to the city. This admission is heard on every 
missionary rostrum, emphasized in Rural Surveys, and is 
re-echoed in the Home Mission literature of the day. 
Its full significance has not yet permeated the conscious- 
ness of the Church. Is it the survival of the fittest? The 
object of this inquiry is to arouse Presbyteries and Chris- 
tian leadership to the serious consequences threatened. 

The Importance of the Country. 

Its influence on life and character can be only partially 
apprehended, even after an array of facts and figures 
familiar to every reader of average information. Statistics 
indicate that perhaps seven-eighths of the ministers and 
six-sevenths of the college professors were reared in the 
country. At least three-fourths of the leadership of our 
city churches, and the majority of their members were 
country bred, and the same ratio exists as to lawyers, 
physicians, bankers, and other professional and influential 
men. It is claimed that twenty-six of our twenty-eight 
Presidents of the United States were country boys. Rural 
scenery and honest toil are calculated to make strong men 
physically, gigantic men intellectually, and clean men 



The Country Church and Rural Life 189 

morally and spiritually. It is the psychological explana- 
tion of the recognized fact that the country church was 
formerly the mother of teachers, statesmen and theo- 
logians. 

The abnormal growth of our cities is at the expense of 
the country, and this degeneration of the rural com- 
munity will eventually react on the religious life of the 
city and the moral stamina of the nation. City churches 
are not only being recruited from the country in numbers, 
but in moral fibre. "What are you doing away out in 
the backwoods?" said a city pastor to a country minister. 
"I am engaged," replied he, "in the work of helping you 
to save your city." If the Church but appreciated the 
significance of this statement, it would recognize that the 
gifts of the rich city church to evangelize the country are 
in reality an indirect investment for its own salvation. 
In North Carolina a city church paid a percentage of the 
salary of a mission church. This rural pastorate resulted 
in the conversion of a prominent man who afterwards 
moved, with his church membership, to the city, and con- 
tributed annually to the city church more than the entire 
amount it had expended on the salary of the country 
pastor. 

Emerson is responsible for the statement that "if the 
cities were not re-enforced from the fields, they would 
have rotted, exploded, and disappeared long ago." If, 
however, country life degenerates, and the rural church 
disintegrates, where will come the moral force to counteract 
the degenerating influence of our increasingly corrupt 
cities? "If the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it 
be salted?" No wonder John R. Mott sounded the timely 
alarm: "The cities cannot be relied upon to furnish the 
Christian leaders of the future. The work of the church in 
the country districts must be carried on with efficiency 
and power in order to assure the raising up of sufficient 
Christian forces to cultivate the city fields." W. F. 



190 The Task That Challenges 

Richardson, of Kansas City, asserts that 90 per cent, of 
the ministers and missionaries of the Church come from 
rural and village communities. 

Rural Surveys. 

"It was a condition and not a theory" which suddenly 
confronted a startled church, and aroused thoughtful men 
to the necessity of swift and radical action. Surveys were 
instituted to ascertain the facts. Theodore Roosevelt's 
"Country Life Commission" sounded the keynote of the 
first great reform needed: "Any consideration of the prob- 
lem of rural life that leaves out of account the function and 
possibilities of the church and of related institutions would 
be grossly inadequate, * * * because from the purely 
sociological point of view, the church is fundamentally a 
necessary institution in country life. In a peculiar way 
the church is intimately related to agricultural industry. 
This gives the rural church a position of peculiar difficulty 
and one of unequalled opportunity. * * * The time 
has arrived when the church must take a larger leadership, 
both as an institution, and through its pastor, in the 
social reorganization of rural life." 

The Federal Council of Churches and the Home Mission 
Council each appointed a Commission on Rural Life. The 
Home Mission Board of the Presbyterian Church, U. S. 
A., created a County Life Department, which conducted 
numerous surveys, upon which were based valuable re- 
ports, bristling with live information. The following- 
statistics are furnished by the survey of three counties in 
Missouri: "In these three Missouri counties are 180 Protest- 
ant church buildings, 159 of which are used occasionally, 
while 21 have been totally abandoned. The investiga- 
tion shows that 23 per cent, of the population is in the 
Protestant membership, about 5 per cent, in the Catholic, 
while at least 71 per cent, belong to no church whatever." 

Quotations are given from other surveys, to indicate 



The Country Church and Rural Life 191 

something of conditions: "In 1890 five counties of New 
York state were exhaustively studied. Many Protestant 
churches were seen, falling into decay, or abandoned long 
since to bats and brick-bats. In one village the investi- 
gators found two disused Protestant churches, one active 
Catholic church, and fourteen saloons, all within the dis- 
tance of a quarter of a mile. In one town they found a 
Presbyterian church used as a barn, a Baptist church aban- 
doned, and two Methodist churches almost extinct, and 
a Baptist Seminary used as a Catholic church; while on 
the Erie Canal for miles were found scattered hamlets 
containing altogether a considerable population, with no 
religious services of any kind from one year's end to an- 
other." 

Rev. Matthew B. McNutt reported 800 abandoned 
churches in Ohio and 1,500 in Illinois. Prof. E. C. Bran- 
son is responsible for the statement that one of the great 
religious denominations of the South, consisting of 3,500 
churches, has 1,032 churches without pastors, mainly 
country churches. * * * Of a group of 41 churches 
in middle Georgia, 20 are without Sunday schools, 19 of 
them give nothing to Missions, 7 are without pastors, and 
20 of these churches report no members by profession of 
faith. 

Eminent Authorities. 

At the Church and Country Life Convention held in 
Columbus, Ohio, December, 1915, under the authority and 
auspices of the Federal Council of Churches, attended by 
800 delegates and addressed by Woodrow Wilson, Presi- 
dent of the United States, the following facts and statistics 
were furnished in reports of Committees and addresses 
by distinguished speakers. Rev. Charles O. Gill, secretary 
and organizer, announced: 

"The main work during the year in Ohio has been a state- 
wide survey supplementing the work of 1912 and 1913, 



192 The Task That Challenges 

by the Presbyterian Church and the Ohio Rural Life Sur- 
vey. The attempt has been made to ascertain the loca- 
tion and denomination of every rural church, its present 
membership, whether it is gaining or losing in member- 
ship, and whether it ordinarily has a resident pastor, and 
what part of a minister's service it receives. * * * So 
far as the data have been tabulated, they indicate that 
nearly one-fourth of the townships of the state, comprising 
a territory of more than 9,000 square miles, are without 
resident ministers and that a very large proportion of the 
churches in this area are declining in membership; that on 
an average there are nearly 4 churches in each of these 
townships; that there is a church to every 286 persons, 
while there is one minister to about 800 persons." 

Governor Frank B. Willis in his address of welcome 
stated : 

"Carefully compiled figures seem to show beyond ques- 
tion that the rural churches in Ohio have come upon evil 
times — that they have ceased to grow, that eighty-three 
per cent, have a membership of less than 100, that one out 
of every 9 country churches has been abandoned in re- 
cent years, that only one-third are increasing in member- 
ship, and that two-thirds have either ceased to grow or are 
dying. It seems especially significant to me that the 
figures show that less than 40 per cent, of the rural popu- 
lation are church members." 

W. F. Richardson furnished the following facts: 

"A study of 91 rural churches in Indiana showed that 
25 of them had not one male communicant under 21. 
In Illinois only 13 per cent, of the young people were found 
attending the Sunday school. In Maryland, 57 per cent, 
of the rural churches have no sort of organization for the 
young people of their communities. * * * In the 
heart of Missouri, in one of its richest counties, there are 
67 country churches, or one for every 46 farm families. 
There is but one resident pastor among the 67 churches. 



The Country Church and Rural Life 193 

Man)- of them are ministered to by preachers who travel 
weary miles to bring them the monthly sermons upon 
which they try to live their feeble lives." 

In his report to the Convention, Edwin L. Earp, Chair- 
man of the Committee on the Country Church as a Commu- 
nity Center, inquires: "Why are we discussing so often in 
these days the problems of the country church ? Because in 
many sections of our country it presents to us one of the 
most difficult mission fields of the world to cultivate, be- 
cause, like the slums of the great cities, it is a lost home 
field. As one goes back to his home county in the rural 
sections of the Eastern, Southern, and some of the middle 
Western States, what does he discover? The splendid old 
circuit system broken up, and the fires of religious fervor 
gone out upon many abandoned church and family altars, 
and the message of the minister in the neglected pulpit 
of the dilapidated church building, about as effective in 
creating a community spirit as the noise of a lone wood- 
pecker on a dead tree in a swamp." 

What Is a Country Church? 

In the last census the United States Supervisor defined 
as such any church in the open country, or in towns not 
exceeding 2,500 in population. In the whole United States 
this standard consigned 53 per cent, of the people to the 
country, while in the South the ratio reached 75 per cent. 
Beyond all question, this arbitrary classification is so 
manifestly wrong as to render the statistics either mis- 
leading, or of small value. The average church in towns 
of 2,500 contains no appreciable percentage of farmers, 
and but few possessing in the remotest degree the agri- 
cultural instinct. Besides this fatal objection, such towns 
are rare exceptions, if they do not furnish graded schools, 
social advantages, and many of the attractions of the 
city. 

The Presbyterian Church, U. S. A., accepted the defini- 



194 The Task That Challenges 

tion of the Census Supervisor, however, and undertook to 
ascertain the percentage of its country churches and their 
conditions. This condensed statement will give a fair 
idea of the result of their investigation: "Inquiry was made 
of each Presbytery. Reports were received from 269 
Presbyteries. These reports show that 70.07 per cent, of 
all the churches in those 269 Presbyteries were country 
churches. Of the 6,751 country churches, 4,185, or 61.9 
per cent., were in villages, and 2,261, or 33.6 per cent., are 
in the open country. The remaining 305, which constitute 
4.5 per cent., have been abandoned. 

Of the 4,863 churches which had the services of a minister, 
3,280 were in villages and 1,583 were in the open country. 
That is, 78.4 per cent, of the village churches have a min- 
ister, and 21.6 per cent, have none. 

Of the open country churches, 70 per cent, have a min- 
ister, 30 per cent, are vacant. Seventy-four and six- 
tenths per cent, of village churches that had a minister 
were so fortunate as to have him residing within the parish, 
whereas only 25.8 per cent, of the open country churches 
had a resident minister. Twenty-three and four-tenths 
per cent, have one-half of his time. Ten and four-tenths 
per cent, have one-third of his time, and four and five- 
tenths per cent, manage to exist with one-fourth or less 
of the minister's attention." 

Presbyterian Church, U. S. 

In seeking to ascertain the facts relative to the country 
churches in the Presbyterian Church, U. S., we have classi- 
fied as such only those churches strictly in the open coun- 
try, and not located on any railroad. This ruling is ad- 
mittedly defective, and open to objections in some respects, 
but comprises the distinctively country church. 

By correspondence and questionnaire, we succeeded in 
getting replies from practically all the Presbyteries, con- 
taining in the aggregate 3,430 churches, and of this num- 



The Country Church and Rural Life 195 

ber 1,355 are located strictly in the country, being 39J^ 
per cent, of the whole. 

In estimating the spiritual condition and general status 
of these country churches, due allowance must be made for 
the fact that these reports reflect the views of 85 individuals, 
one Home Mission Chairman for each Presbytery. If the 
inquiry had been made of the Stated Clerks, the estimates 
would doubtless have varied somewhat. Men often differ 
as to whether a church is growing or dying, and as to the 
definition of an "abandoned" church, some applying the 
term to a deserted building and others to a dead organiza- 
tion. Upon the whole it is highly probable that this sum- 
mary of results based upon these reports furnishes a fair 
estimate of general conditions: 

Of these 1,355 churches in the open country, 1,084 had 
pastors or temporary supplies, being 80 per cent., and 271 
were vacant, being 20 per cent. This is rather a good 
showing, and doubtless above the average of most large 
denominations. Reports indicate that 867 were growing, 
being 64 per cent.; 170 were actually dying, being 12 3/2 P er 
cent.; and 49 were abandoned, being 3% per cent., which 
would leave 269, or practically 20 per cent., as merely 
holding their own. If all of the 867 were making decided 
progress, 64 per cent, would be quite a remarkable record 
in comparison with many others; but it is doubtful whether 
many which seem to be growing at present have as large a 
membership as thirty years ago. Of the total, 464, or 
34J4 per cent., are served by absentee pastors, and 271, or 
20 per cent., are vacant. These two conditions are un- 
favorable to growth, but cannot be taken into the account 
without "overlapping," and so each must discount for 
himself their effect upon the general status. Many ex- 
amples can be counted on both sides of the question. A 
church which to-day numbers 100 members, having gained 
20 in five years, would be credited with. growth; and yet 
if it contained 200 thirty years ago, it would serve to illus- 



196 The Task Thai Challenges 

trate the decline of the country church, according to the 
general consensus of opinion. 

Mecklenburg Presbytery. 

No man ever rendered more efficient service in a country 
pastorate than Rev. W. E. Mcllwain, D. D., and no man 
can speak from more intelligent knowledge of the subject 
than he. The following is his account of the country 
churches of Mecklenburg Presbytery of North Carolina, 
in an address at the Steele Creek church : 

"The country church in this part of our state was first 
in order of time. Where we stand to-day was a wilderness 
unbroken, except here and there a log cabin sheltering an 
humble family recently arrived from the north of Ireland. 

"Not only were country churches first in the order of 
time, but for many years after town churches were or- 
ganized they were easily first in the order of importance. 
In point of members, wealth, influence, political, social 
and ecclesiastical, they surpassed all the town churches of 
that day. 

"The 12 oldest country churches in Mecklenburg county 
have not only lived and taken care of themselves and helped 
to organize 7 new country churches and 5 town churches, 
but have been mighty factors in organizing and building 
up our twelve Presbyterian churches in the city of Char- 
lotte. When the Presbytery of Mecklenburg was organized 
in 1869, we had but one church in Charlotte, with 260 
members. To-day we have 12 churches with a combined 
membership of almost 4,000 members. We have more 
Presbyterians to-day in Charlotte than we had in the whole 
Presbytery in 1869, which then embraced nineteen counties 
of the state. 

"These growing country churches have not only made 
Charlotte a great Presbyterian city, but they have made 
Mecklenburg county the greatest Presbyterian county 
south of Pennsylvania. 



The Country Church and Rural Life 197 

"To-day there are in the county 36 white Presbyterian 
churches, with a membership of nearly 7,000. Add to 
these the 11 churches of the Associate Reformed Synod of 
the South, and we have 47 white Presbyterian churches 
with a membership of over 9,000. Here, then, in a single 
county in North Carolina is a Presbyterian membership 
not onlv larger than any other county in the Southern 
States, but more Southern Presbyterians than there are 
in the entire Synods of Arkansas, Florida or Louisiana." 

Per Contra. 

There is, however, only one Mecklenburg County. That 
record cannot be duplicated. Abbeville and York Counties 
in South Carolina, and certain others in North Carolina 
and the Valley of Virginia, as well as in a few other states, 
can still give good account of themselves; but they do not 
disprove the contention, that throughout the country there 
has been a lamentable decline in the strength and influence 
of the rural church. The author grew up in a section of 
South Carolina with great country churches, and has often 
seen, on ordinary Sabbath days, congregations varying 
from 500 to 700 people. To-day those splendid build- 
ings stand as relics of the past, and the voice of the preacher 
is as one crying in the wilderness. 

Decline of the Country Church — Reasons. 

One need not travel far afield to discover the causes re- 
sulting in the disintegration of the country church: 

1. Shifting populations are perhaps the most potent 
factor in accounting for the decline. Cities do not grow 
phenomenally by means of their own natural increase. 
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, less than 4 
per cent, of the population was urban; by the middle of 
the century, it was about 12 per cent.; but at present over 
46 per cent, live in the city. In fifteen states the majority 



198 The Task That Challenges 

of the population is found in cities. In eight of these the 
urban population is more than two-thirds of the whole. 

The growth of the city is at the expense of the country, 
for while the rural population, during the first decade of the 
twentieth century increased only 11 per cent., the urban 
population increased 35 per cent. During this same period 
there was an actual decrease in the population of 795 
counties in the United States. Nine great states decreased 
in rural population. The country is drained of its best 
blood and talent, and the social, educational and com- 
mercial advantages of the city lure to these more attractive 
fields. New and growing sections of the West compete 
with the city for the migratory element of the older settle- 
ments, with their exhausted lands. In many of the rural 
districts of the South, Negro ownership of the land is cir- 
cumscribing and drawing the lines closer around the 
struggling church. The magnitude of this adverse in- 
fluence is apparent considering the fact that 40 per cent, of 
the farmers of the South are Negroes. 

Objections Anticipated. 

The objection is sometimes urged that if population has 
gone to the cities, why manifest concern for abandoned 
houses of worship and disintegrating churches? The 
answer ought to occur to the objector himself, that urban 
and rural populations are relative terms. The neighbor- 
ing city may show five-fold relative growth, and yet the 
country may contain almost as many people as it ever had. 
The leadership, the cultured and the wealthy, may have 
removed to the city, leaving the poorer and the less pro- 
gressive. The population of the country may remain 
almost stationary, and yet destitution may exist and the 
country church disintegrate, because leadership and fin- 
ancial support are gone. In many cases a railroad cuts 
through a large country congregation, and a town is located 
within a few miles of the church. After agitating and 



The Country Church and Rural Life 199 

dividing the congregation on the question, the organiza- 
tion is generally moved to the town, where it struggles for 
existence, as the country people gradually cease attendance 
upon services in town, while the old church is practically 
deserted and its glory departed. 

2. The tenant system of farming is paralyzing the ener- 
gies of the religious forces. Men who do not own homes, 
who in all probability will be missing by another year, have 
no great incentive, either to build or maintain neighbor- 
hood churches. No wonder it has been said that greater 
than war, pestilence and famine, is the curse of landlordism. 
Statistics show that tenants are most irregular and uncer- 
tain in their church attendance. Forty-four per cent, of 
tenants never go near any church. At least 78 per cent, 
of hired men never attend religious worship of any kind. 
Of farmers owning only twenty acres of land, 65 per cent, 
never attend religious worship. The percentage of atten- 
dance increases as the farm grows, until the farmer owns 
300 acres, and then declines again with increased acreage. 

Harry F. Ward of Boston, addressing the Church and 
Country Life Convention, gave the following personal 
experience : 

" Passing through Iowa the other day, I picked up a 
paper and found a statement by an agricultural authority 
estimating that one-half the population of Iowa was com- 
posed of either tenant farmers or hired men. The children 
of the tenant farmers have not an equal chance for develop- 
ment with those of the landlords. Even where their educa- 
tional privileges are the same, they are not as well able to 
take advantage of them. I was recently in a rural commun- 
ity where the retired farmers were objecting strenuously 
to paying the tax required to make the rural school efficient, 
a school which was to serve, not their children, but the 
children of their tenants and hired men." 

Dr. Henry Wallace of Des Moines, la., stated: 

''Capitalists began to invest in lands as soon as the net 



200 The Task That Challenges 

income would equal the interest on savings, and speculators 
began to buy land far in advance of its productive value, 
on the assumption that this ten per cent, per annum in- 
crease in price would continue. One result of this was an 
enormous increase in tenancy, until about thirty-seven and 
one-half per cent, of the tillable lands in the United States 
was farmed by tenants. In the corn belt from forty to 
fifty per cent, of the land is farmed by tenants, and in 
the cotton belt from fifty to seventy per cent." 

Steele Creek Church. 

The largest country church in our communion is Steele 
Creek in Mecklenburg county, near Charlotte, N. C, 
whose parish is perhaps ten miles square, having a resident 
membership of 683, compared with 470 thirty years ago. 
After 100 years of splendid service to the Master in its own 
community, as well as contributing to the growth of Char- 
lotte, it is as vigorous as in its palmiest days. In all 
probability it will be even stronger when it rounds out 
another hundred years, especially if the wise policy of its 
present leadership prevails. It is said that its officers have 
formed a syndicate for the purpose of buying up any farm 
lands for sale within its bounds. This enables them to 
sell to any desirable young couple setting up housekeeping, 
and at the same time to keep out undesirable elements. 
This church has practically solved for itself the problem 
of a rural community. 

The prospect of the country church in general, however, 
is not very reassuring when we are informed that in Geor- 
gia, at the beginning of the 20th century three out of every 
five farms were cultivated by tenants, while in 1910 the 
proportion had increased to two in every three. In one 
county in Georgia the ratio is as high as nine in ten. What 
is the outlook for farming interests or church development 
when nine out of ten farmers are houseless and landless? 
In 1900 only half the people of the United States were land 



The Country Church and Rural Life 201 

owners, and the ratio of the landless increases with each 
decade. Is it any wonder that Isaiah condemned "the 
joining of house to house and the laying of field to field" 
till these landlords had preempted the entire country, a 
condition which the Jewish law attempted to prevent? 

3. The decline of the country school drives men to edu- 
cational centers to seek advantages for their children; and 
as the school declines, the country church dwindles in 
proportion. Statistics show that, while rural sections 
spend only $12.50 on each child, the city expends $30.78 
annually per pupil. 

Social and commercial advantages draw to the city, and 
sap the life of the rural community upon which the country 
church depends for support and growth. Economic con- 
ditions, such as good roads, must also be recognized as in- 
fluences which cannot be ignored. 

At one time its ministry was the glory and strength of 
the rural church. Fifty years ago the country minister 
was the acknowledged leader, molding the thought of men 
as far as his influence reached. His education, culture, 
and spiritual atta'nments compelled recognition; and his 
sermons in their literary style inspired the more ambitious 
youth to seek the learned professions, many of whom en- 
tered the gospel ministry. Now the country gentleman 
and the country church are alike changed. The old type 
is gone, and seemingly never to return. 

4. The spiritual interests of the rural districts are sub- 
jected to "absent treatment." The absentee pastor honors 
the church with his presence on Saturday evening, for once 
a month preaching, and takes his flight by the earliest train 
on Monday. The people know him only in the pulpit and 
in a professional way. Only in the remotest degree does 
he touch the social or spiritual life of the community. In 
far too many instances he is an old man, crowded out of 
growing charges, serving out his time as an hireling; or 
else a young man, serving his apprenticeship, with one eye 



202" The Task That Challenges 

on his country charge and the other on a city pulpit, 
using his present field chiefly as a stepping stone to city 
preferment. The tenant system of farming is no greater 
curse to the rural communities than the tenant ministry 
is to the country church, as may be judged by the following 
quotation from the Rural Survey in Missouri: "Of the 
country churches, 92 per cent, have preaching one-fourth 
the time, and only 8 per cent, have services as often as 
half the time. This means that 92 per cent, of the country 
churches have 'three hours a month ministers.' In these 
three Missouri counties there are but two ministers who 
reside in the county, and but three churches of the 83 can 
claim a resident pastor. One of these is a superannuated 
preacher who is almost illiterate. Taking all these churches 
in the three counties, covering a period of ten years, only 
23 per cent, are growing, 8 per cent, stationary, 24 per cent, 
are losing, 19 per cent, dying, 11 per cent, dead, and 12 per 
cent, have been organized within the past ten years." 

Prof. G. Walter Fiske of Oberlin College, Ohio, gives the 
benefit of his research: 

"In many parts of the country the majority of country 
pastors are not really pastors, but preachers only, not 
living on the land with their people, but in near-by villages 
or even far-away towns. In Ohio only six per cent, of 
country churches have resident pastors, and the propor- 
tion is doubtless smaller than that in most Western and 
Southern states. Very many of these non-resident preach- 
ers are engaged six days in the week in other employment, 
as teachers, students, lawyers, insurance agents, real estate 
dealers, merchants, and in various other lines of business." 

Dr. Victor I. Masters, of the Southern Baptist Church, 
speaking of his denomination, says: "Of 18,000 country 
churches, less than one in fifty has a parsonage, and not 
more than one in twenty has a resident pastor." 

This criticism of the tenant system of the ministry has 
no reference whatever to the noble army of itinerant preach- 



The Country Church and Rural Life 203 

ers who have served as pioneers in destitute regions, nor 
to the self-denying pastors of groups which could not in 
any other way secure the services of the sanctuary. Such 
men are making the supreme sacrifice of life, sharing the 
lot of their people, making the care of souls their chief 
concern, and not merely a by-product to augment their 
salary. 

The criticism of the absent treatment system, as one 
explanation of the dying country church, should be further 
modified by the recognition of the fact that a large part of 
the blame must be borne by the country church itself, on 
account of its notorious illiberality in the support of its 
ministers. 

Many successful farmers raise everything at home, 
handling comparatively little money except once a year, 
and for this reason cannot appreciate the hardship entailed 
on their pastor, who is compelled to purchase his entire 
supplies, wardrobe, library, etc., as well as educate his 
children, at some remote educational center. The Rural 
Survey officially states: "Country people are contributing 
at the present time, instead of one-tenth of their income 
to the church in the country, only one-half of one per cent, 
of their income." In some systematic and prudent way, 
the country church should be made to realize that the entire 
obligation of self-denial should not be laid upon the minis- 
try. These influences and conditions are a sufficient ex- 
planation of the disintegration of the country church. It 
could scarcely be otherwise. 

The Remedy. 

The facts are easily ascertained, and the reasons for the 
disintegration of the country church will scarcely provoke 
debate. The chief consideration is the remedy. "Is there 
no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there," who can 
diagnose the disease and prescribe a spiritual tonic which 
will restore "the health of the daughter of my people." 



204 The Task That Challenges 

The most common, the very first suggestion, is doubtless 
Presbyterial oversight. What is the purpose and object of 
a Presbytery except "the care of all the churches?" Such 
should likewise be its aim. Unfortunately the Presbytery 
is burdened also with the responsibility of settling ' 'points 
of order," "preparing overtures to the Assembly," "amend- 
ing the Book of Church Order," "financing schemes of 
benevolence," and must adjourn promptly to catch the 
homeward train. "As thy servant was busy here and 
there," the main business, the care and cure of souls, often 
escapes attention. Alike unfortunate is the tendency of 
the individual church to independency, and it refuses to be 
grouped against its wishes, tastes, and prejudices. It 
prefers under the circumstances to remain vacant. The 
Presbytery has the episcopal oversight and control, but 
rarely exercises it. Both Presbytery and the church itself 
agree that "something ought to be done," which however 
is rarely done — and the country church continues to decline. 

Special evanglistic services in many instances have proved 
efficacious. The Gospel is an unfailing remedy, if wisely 
administered and faithfully received, but in most cases the 
revival is spasmodic and the inevitable relapse follows. 

The effective remedy is the evangelistic pastor whose 
earnest messages are inspired by genuine love of souls, in- 
ducing a revival all the year round, and who not simply in the 
pulpit but "in every house ceases not to teach and preach 
Jesus Christ," rather than the "hail fellow" whose delight 
is to retail stale jokes and "court a grin when he should 
woo a soul." 

The absentee pastor must be discarded. The profes- 
sional preacher who comes once a month, chiefly to augment 
his salary, is a mere makeshift, a hireling minister. If the 
country is to be resuscitated, the Church must produce a 
new order of ministry. The spirit of Christ must again 
become incarnate among men. Ministers who live where 
they do not preach, and preach where they do not live, 



The Country Church and Rural Life 205 

should be barely tolerated. Men who consider themselves 
'buried alive" in a country charge should be discharged. 
If college-bred and seminary-trained men are unwilling 
to serve except in a city charge, prayer must be made to 
the Lord of the Harvest to raise up a new order of ministry 
"taught of the Spirit," and "filled with the Holy Ghost." 
Definite sacrifices must be made. The Rural Survey 
prescribes as a remedy: "The preacher and his family 
must make their sacrifices as definitely as if they went 
to China or to Africa to preach the Gospel." 

Comparative Sacrifices. 

Is this implication and call upon country preachers to 
make the same sacrifices as foreign missionaries quite 
fair to the former? As to which class is making the greater 
sacr fices may be judged from the able report of Prof. 
G. Walter Fiske to the Convention at Columbus, Ohio. 

"The trite witticism that the rural ministry is 'trying to 
live on earth and board in heaven' is not far from the facts. 
How thousands of country ministers live is a mystery this 
Committee will not attempt to explain, for they are cer- 
tainly not paid a living salary, a salary sufficient to support 
a family. When it is true that the average salary of coun- 
try ministers is less than $600, it is seen at once that thous- 
ands of men must be receiving considerably less to bring 
the average so low. Hodcarriers in New York earn $900 
a year; but in one large denomination in America the coun- 
try ministers are reported to receive on the average $325. 
It is obvious that these ministers must supplement their 
income by other work during the week, or else depend upon 
the labor of their wives and children. 

"Is it not reasonable to argue that the young man con- 
sidering the Home Mission field as a life-work should be 
respected as much as his brother who goes to the foreign 
field for life? Is it too much to expect that the Church 
should treat the home missionary as well as the foreign 



206 The Task That Challenges 

missionary? Foreign Mission Boards guarantee the sup- 
port of their missionaries. The stipends which they pay 
them are not regarded as salaries but simply as support, 
and they usually are adequate. This Committee wishes 
to suggest the same consideration for the country minister 
who enters the rural work for life. If he is a thoroughly 
consecrated and well-equipped man, let us treat him as 
well as we treat the foreign missionary. 

''Yet the fact is we are sending many of our ablest college 
and seminary men to the foreign field and very few of them 
into the country ministry for life. Thi^ is partly because 
there is a decent support for an educated man and his 
family on the foreign field, whereas the financial struggle 
is twice as difficult in the average country parsonage. If 
this condition continues indefinitely, how can we escape 
getting a peasant ministry in our own rural America, 
inferior in every respect to the leadership of the Church in 
foreign fields? 

"No one can accuse any Foreign Missionary Board of 
being too generous with the men and women who go into 
voluntary exile for Christ's sake. The most generous 
stipends paid by any missionary board are none too gen- 
erous; but the fact remains that they are far beyond the 
salaries of the rural ministry. This Committee has 
courteously been furnished full statements by the leading 
Foreign Mission Boards of America as to their financial 
provision for their missionaries on the field. We have also 
ascertained the salary status in every American Foreign 
Mission Board six years ago. In every instance, though 
differing in details, the policy is the same. A living salary- 
is guaranteed the missionary. 

"The lowest foreign missionary salary we have been able 
to discover now paid by any strong church board to an 
ordained married man is $900 in a station in Africa; but 
in addition to this "basal salary," he is given an extra 
allowance for rent, free medical attendance, and a chil- 



The Country Church and Rural Life 207 

dren's allowance of $100 for each child under 10, and $150 
for each child between ten and twenty. The average in- 
come of a foreign missionary is considerably above this. 
One prominent board reports "average total salary: "In 
Ceylon, $1,700; other parts of India, $1,500 to $1,600; 
China, $1,200 to $1,600; South Africa, minimum $1,265, 
max'mum, $2,500; Japan, minimum, $1,665, maximum 
$2,500. 

"Another denomination, paying very low salaries to 
rural pastors at home, pays its foreign missionaries as fol- 
lows: In Japan, basal salary, $1,400 to $1,900; Korea, 
$1,200; China, $1,050; North China, $1,200; Africa, $1,000. 
In addition to the above basal salaries, an allowance of 
$100 to $150 is granted for each child, according to cir- 
cumstances." It is easier to die a martyr's death, than to 
endure the lifelong martyrdom of a sacrificial life in an ob- 
scure pastorate. If "volunteers" wish to test the extent 
of their sacrifice and the reality of their heroism, let them 
deny themselves the privilege of going to the foreign field, 
and yield themselves in real sacrifice for destitute country 
places, where the people "are scattered abroad as sheep 
having no shepherd." Let the Church challenge her most 
promising men, and see how many will respond. If the 
Church can secure vo 1 unteers of this character, it would be 
comparatively easy to save the country church, and it 
would carry conviction to the world, if the greatest of all 
Christ's works were reproduced, "the preaching of the 
Gospel to the poor." 

Illustrious Example — Dr. C. W. Grafton. 

All denominations can furnish many worthy examples 
of such heroism and sacrificial service in obscure country 
pastorates, but their number is growing proportionately 
smaller with passing years. Without invidious comparison, 
one conspicuous living illustration may be permitted, as a 
type of this "noble army of martyrs." Rev. C. W. Graf- 



208 



The Task That Challenges 




*®&tii^ 




REV. C. W. GRAFTON, D. D., 

Forty Years Pastor of a Country Charge 
Union Church, Miss. 



Moderator of the General Assembly 
of the 

Presbyterian Church, U. S., 
1916. 



The Country Church and Rural Life 209 

ton, D. D., of Union church, Miss., has served but one 
pastorate, going directly from the Seminary to his present 
charge, forty-four years ago. Though living 12 miles 
from the railroad, he has refused prominent city pastorates. 
Such splendid sacrifice eventually receives due recognition 
and commensurate compensation. Is it any wonder that 
Dr. Grafton is by far the most influential man in his county, 
and was recently honored by his Church with the highest 
office in its gift, having been unanimously elected Moder- 
ator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church 
in the United States? 

Even where men in sufficient numbers are secured — 
country pastors with consecration, energy and holy aims 
undertake the task — it must be admitted that difficulties 
almost insuperable confront them, and the Church should 
not only encourage by its warmest sympathy, but study to 
suggest methods by which to aid these men in their work. 
Inadequate salary handicaps and isolation separates from 
the sustaining fellowship and helpful counsel of city com- 
radeship. No ministerial Association serves as a clearing 
house for the country pastor's problems. Traditional 
customs and the ultra conservation of his "Aarons and 
Hurs," tie his hands or threaten his term of service. Lack 
of training for his peculiar problems and embarrassing 
tasks overwhelms and paralyzes his best efforts. 

In addition to a thorough knowledge of the Word of God 
acquired in the Theological Seminary, he must acquire the 
ability to bring his message in terms and language appre- 
ciated and understood by the backward classes, illustrating 
after the manner of the Master by rural scenes, incidents, 
and Biblical reference, all of which must be learned in the 
school of experience and in contact with rural life. There 
are problems also which, though secular, economic and 
social, yet have a moral aspect, indirect it is true, but 
powerfully affecting the success of his ministry and the 
development of the country church. 



210 The Task That Challenges 

Training J or the Task. 

What assistance can the Church render the country 
pastor directly, and his rural pastorate indirectly, in the 
way of training for meeting his perplexing responsibilities? 

If any doubt the serious need of better training, let them 
ponder the following expert testimony of Prof. W. K. Tate 
of the Peabody Normal, Nashville, Tenn.: 

"Practical subjects should be included in the course, 
even if their inclusion should make necessary the elimina- 
tion of Greek, Hebrew, comparative religion, or other 
subjects which are now a part of the theological course. 
That the old course of training for ministers does not meet 
country needs, is evident from the fact that the churches 
which have insisted most strongly upon an educated min- 
istry have all but disappeared from the country. The type 
of education which the minister received really unfitted him 
for rural service, and left this field to denominations which 
are less exacting in their educational demand. The trouble 
has been not too much education, but the wrong kind." 

In view of all these considerations and the vital issues in- 
volved, the Church should appeal to its wealthy constituents 
to endow a chair in some Theological Seminary, well equip- 
ped in other respects, for special training of a volunteer 
class for attacking rural problems and saving the country 
church. In the meantime, scholarships at much less cost 
might be secured for promising individual men desiring to 
invest their life in saving rural America. Experiments are 
already being made in different sections, of conducting 
summer conferences and institutes for the special benefit 
of the country pastors. Doubtless any one of our Theo- 
logical Seminaries would lend its dormitory, recitation 
rooms, and perhaps its faculty might volunteer, or indiv- 
idual professors from various institutions, to devote their 
learning and skill to the vital task of resuscitating the coun- 
try church by fitting its pastor for his w r ork. It would 



The Country Church and Rural Life 211 

cost but little — traveling expenses and board being the 
chief item. A small outlay of $25 to $50 in this way on the 
part of the country pastor would perhaps be the wisest 
and best investment of his life. Many a benevolent church- 
man would consider it a privilege to contribute to such a 
noble purpose. The country church itself could send its 
pastor to a training school for a month's vacation, recrea- 
tion and study ; and it would receive such returns in the way 
of indirect benefit itself as would more than compensate 
for the expenditure. 

It would be impossible to enumerate the subjects em- 
braced in the curriculum of such a summer school, much 
less undertake in this brief survey to develop the topics. 
To indicate and enforce mildly the benefits of this sugges- 
tion, the following incomplete scope of the training needs 
is hereby outlined: 

1. Some acquaintance with the soil of the farm is needed, 
as well as with the soul of the farmer. The suggestion 
that the country preacher should be an expert, teaching 
his parishioners farming is not only supremely absurd, 
but would bring him into collision with traditional methods, 
handed down from grandfathers. At the same time he 
might be so trained as to enable him prudently to organize 
farmer's clubs, and wisely secure lecturers from agricultural 
colleges, or good literature for his parishioners, through 
the unstrumentality of the club. 

2. Acquaintance with economic conditions, such as good 
roads, by means of the Congress organized to that end, 
would make attendance on the Sabbath services easier and 
so justify the prudent promotion of better roads, as well as 
remove the reproach that the Church devotes its entire 
energies to directing the way to heaven, and has no concern 
about the way to the sanctuary. 

3. Training for securing better equipment for his parish 
plant. Many country churches, instead of attracting men 
to the house of worship, make such demands in the way of 



212 The Task That Challenges 

self-denial, hardship, and discomforts, as to repel and dim- 
inish attendance, while penalizing those who are faithful, 
by causing weariness of the flesh not conducive to worship. 
Institutional features could be easily secured and wisely 
used, as in the city church, such as reading rooms, gym- 
nasiums, a meeting place for boys and girls clubs, and 
social gatherings. As there was no room for the infant 
Jesus in the inn, so infants are unwelcome today in public 
worship, which compels the mother to absent herself as 
well, and most frequently keeps the father away, because 
lacking the encouragement of being accompanied by his 
wife. A nursery where one or two mothers could alter- 
nately care for the wa~ds of the church might make the 
"cradle roll" a help rather than a hindrance. 

4. Training for co-operation in securing better school 
advantages would not only obviate the necessity of his par- 
ishioners moving to town, but would benefit the entire 
country, by educating its future leadership in the more 
healthy environs of rural life. Without being officious, 
he could render invaluable aid to the school board in se- 
curing better teachers and in incorporating high school 
features which would educate the community in mutual 
co-operation, as well as retain the children, who if sent 
away to school probably would be lost to the community. 
In some instances a parochial school might be founded 
whose beneficial effects would reach latitudinally in all 
directions, as well as longitudinally in the years to come. 

5. Training that would enable him to organize his church 
to minister to human need. Too much emphasis may 
possibly be placed on social service, especially by a mistaken 
humanitarianism, which makes man the center rather than 
God, which confines its scope to the present life and its 
bodily needs to the exclusion largely of the soul and its 
eternal interests, thus making the church a social center 
rather than an evangelistic force. Yet it is also possible 
for the church to err in the opposite direction, and forget 



The Country Church and Rural Life 213 

the example of the Master, who carried in one hand healing 
for the soul and in the other healing for the body, as the 
Great Physician, and commanded the Apostles to "heal 
the sick." The physical and social needs of humanity 
both justify and require Christianity to meet such by giv- 
ing them a relative and subordinate place in the scope of 
Christian activities. If these social needs can be wisely 
used and made an adjunct to the Gospel of ministry, it 
would be criminal to lose the opportunity and privilege. 
Sunday baseball and demoralizing dances lead many young 
people to ruin, because the good people are not providing 
better and higher social attractions and recreations. A 
speaker told recently of a young men's club in a hall just 
across the street from a country church, whose effects were 
so demoralizing that not a member ever entered the 
church. The writer saw a group of young men sitting on 
the fence near a country church and school, whittling idly, 
because there was no recreation nor attraction to engage 
their attention and stimulate their nobler impulses. A 
debating society, a literary club, even a healthy baseball 
game, attended occasionally by the pastor, might contri- 
bute to physical, social and intellectual natures, and es- 
tablish ties between them and the pastor which would 
constitute a means of approach with his gospel ministra- 
tions. 

The writer, during a city pastorate of twelve years, pro- 
moted a missionary society of young people which com- 
bined social features, games, etc. This society, of both 
sexes, met monthly, ordinarily in the pastor's home. It 
largely took the place of dances and card parties, and min- 
istered to their social natures. It drew other young people 
to these meetings, which had a religious feature, and gave 
the pastor a wider acquaintance beyond the circle of his 
membership, and was instrumental also in swelling his 
night congregation by making his young people a recruit- 
ing force. Besides it led to matrimonial alliances under 



214 The Task That Challenges 

the most favorable conditions. The young people of that 
quondam missionary society are today the leadership and 
strength of that growing congregation. It may be objected 
that this society was in a city pastorate. Yet it had no 
feature which could not be easily duplicated in a rural 
community, and would doubtless fill even a larger place 
in the life of a country parish. It may be further objected 
that it drew young people from other congregations; but 
that was merely incidental, and it attracted only such as 
were not interested in their own church activities, and thus 
saved them from being lured into worldly snares. In 
any event there is no patent on the scheme, and no reason 
why other denominations should not employ its beneficial 
features. 

This experiment is capable of endless variations and ap- 
plications. A missionary society of older people, with or 
without the social and recreational features, a mission 
study class with perhaps an occasional missionary address 
or lecture upon kindred topics, could be promoted in such 
a way by the pastor as to bring out and cultivate the best 
elements in the intellectual and religious life of the com- 
munity, as well as train leaders for the future demands of 
the kingdom. 

6. Training in the best methods of financing a country 
church. The backward church is perhaps in greater need 
of a wise guiding hand in the development of its finances 
than in any other aspect of its activities. It can no 
longer be financed by loose change, and a haphazard method 
of raising its pastor's salary. Farmers, who do not handle 
money except at harvest, and conduct their own business 
on a credit system, cannot appreciate the need or benefit of 
systematic giving. Lack of education and training along 
the line of church finance, on the part of rural people, con- 
stitutes a barrier in thought and co-operation between pas- 
tor and people Many a farmer of wealth does not realize 
his relative financial strength in the church at large, and 



The Country Church and Rural Life 215 

does not know that many a clerk in the city, with nothing 
but a small salary, gives ten times as much to the cause, 
which they both equally love. Few people in a rural com- 
munity have adequate instruction in stewardship, and con- 
sequently are undeveloped in their benevolent sympathies 
and in their vision of the Kingdom's needs; and therefore 
have no adequate sense of personal responsibility and moral 
obligation. The country pastor is at great disadvantage 
in being compelled to deal with raw material, containing 
frequently many dangerous explosive elements. For the 
sake of his church's development and for his own official 
position, he needs special training in methods of introducing 
and conducting the Every Member Canvass, and in culti- 
vating the grace of benevolence for the making of Christian 
character, without being subject to the suspicion of pleading 
for his own salary. 

In this discussion no effort has been attempted to fur- 
nish a complete diagnosis of the disease of the tottering 
county church, much less an infallible remedy, but merely 
to gather the results of the investigations of expert and 
experienced men, with suggest ons which may be more or 
less worthy of the profound consideration of the Church. 

The key to the situation is the country pastor. Illus- 
trations are on record of marvelous results accomplished by 
such men as Matthew B. McNutt, C. O. Gill, Harlow S. 
Mills, and others. The same men with the same equip- 
ment, the same methods, would succeed in almost any com- 
munity or denomination. If we could secure a sufficient 
number of such men as to contribute a chain linking neigh- 
borhood to neighborhood, we can well imagine resusci- 
tated communities and revived churches, till the country 
church becomes once more a great moral standard and a 
spiritual force throughout the bounds of the Nation, while 
the thrill of its revived life and expanding activities would 
reach "unto the uttermost part of the earth." 



216 The Task That Challenges 

Bailey's poem of the Rural Church may be somewhat 
overworked, but let it speak once more the message of its 
mission till every country church, in every community, 
shall join the anthem which shall be sung, and the music 
goes echoing around the world. 

THE RURAL CHURCH 

"In some great day 

The Country Church 
Will find its voice 
And it will say: 

"I stand in the fields 
Where the wide earth yields 

Her beauties of fruit and grain . 
Where the furrows turn 
Till the plowshares burn, 

As they come round and round again : 
Where the workers pray 
With their tools all day, 

In sunshine and shadow and rain. 

"And I bid them tell 
Of the crops they sell 

And speak of the work they have done ; 
I speed every man 
In his hope and plan, 

And follow his day with the sun ; 
And grasses and trees, 
The birds and the bees — 

I know and feel ev'ry one. 

"And out of it all 
As the seasons fall 

I build my great temple alway; 
I point to the skies, 
But my footstone lies 

In commonplace work of the day; 
For I preach the worth 
Of the native earth — 

To love and to work is to pray." 



The Country Church and Rural Life 217 

Program for the Rural Church. 

The Southern Conference on Education and Industry, 
at Chattanooga, Tenn., April, 1915, submitted for consid- 
eration the following program, as a means of resuscitating 
the country church: 

Program for Rural Church in the South. 

1. Good management of the congregation according to 
its own form of government, Avith an official board, care- 
fully elected and well trained for its work, each officer con- 
fining himself to his powers and duties, and neglecting 
none of them. 

2. Pastor resident in the community, fulfilling the con- 
dition — "Every minister in his field every week." 

3. A church or other building and grounds centrally lo- 
cated and adapted for meeting all the needs of the com- 
munity; with comfort, for man in his religious, educational 
and social needs, and for the beast which brings him to 
church. 

4. An annual season of revival meetings, to bring sinners 
to Christ and to lead the young to a decision for Christ, 
and to comfort and inspire the members. 

5. A systematic survey of the whole community, that 
the church may neglect none, and have record of all, who 
live within a "team haul" of the church house. 

6. Recreation, mental training, social life and spiritual 
culture through Sunday School and Young People's So- 
ciety. 

7. The church and its allies, which are working for the 
community's general welfare, should meet at least once 
each year and confer in the common interest. These 
allies are the school, club, lodge, lecture, bureau, farmer's 
institute, demonstration service, good road promoters, 
and other agencies working for the good of all who live in 
the place. 



218 The Task That Challenges 

8. A systematic financial plan, as democratic as the 
method of governing, that through the participation of 
every member will produce money enough to meet the re- 
quirements of permanence and progress. 

9. A regular system of evangelizing neglected com- 
munities within a convenient drive of the church house, 
and of extending the activities of the church in a spirit of 
brotherhood to those country neighborhoods. 

10. The country church should have a share in giving 
the gospel to all men, to the ends of the earth, and should 
have a special connection and adequate information con- 
cerning some particular foreign mission field. 



X. 

THE HAND OF WOMAN. 



'And the Women Who Published the Tidings Were a Great 

Host." 



By Hallie Paxson Winsborough. 



The Christian Church has ever had in its women earnest 
and devoted followers of the lowly Christ. Perhaps it is 
because of what the Gospel of Christ has meant to the 
freedom and development of woman that she has felt an 
especial responsibility for promoting the cause of Chris- 
tianity. 

Woman's Work as Recorded in the New Testament. 

The New Testament records many examples of this re- 
sponse on the part of the women. It was a woman, 
Elizabeth, who first rejoiced in the prospective coming of 
the Lord ; a woman was the first witness of the great 
resurrection; it was a woman who anointed his head with 
precious ointment and washed his feet with her tears. 

Women followed our Saviour weeping and wailing all 
that sad journey to the cross and at the crucifixion "many 
women were there . . . which followed Jesus from 
Galilee ministering to him." Women anointed his body 
for burial, and, after his body was placed in the tomb, 
women watched there "sitting over against the sepulchre." 
Women were the first to reach that sacred tomb on the 
morning of his resurrection, coming there "while it was 



"Prepared at the request of the author. 



220 The Task Thai Challenges 

yet dark as it began to dawn." After his resurrection his 
first appearance was to the women whom he bade go and 
tell the disciples, "I ascend unto my Father." Women 
ministered unto him in life all along his thorny pathway, 
ever remaining "faithful unto death," even when his best 
beloved disciples deserted him. It is not strange, there- 
fore, that the Christian Church in modern times finds 
women still given to good works in all branches of mis- 
sionary activity. 

The Modern Missionary Activity of Women. 

The modern missionary movement is but little over a 
century in duration, and almost from its inception we find 
women uniting individual interests in an effort to hasten 
the solution of the great missionary problem. First the 
local missionary societies were organized; later these were 
united in groups corresponding to the organization of the 
church proper, until to-day we find every evangelical de- 
nomination in Christendom with its organization of wo- 
men co-operating with the church in the promotion of its 
missionary propaganda. 

Interdenominational Organization of Women. 

The increased efficiency which accrued to the various 
denominations from the united efforts of its societies 
eventually led to the uniting of representatives of the 
various women's Home and Foreign Mission Boards into 
two great interdenominational organizations, the Council 
of Women for Home Missions and the Federation of Wo- 
men's Boards for Foreign Missions, which enroll in their 
membership practically all of the leading Women's Mis- 
sionary Boards of America. The most valuable practical 
result of these interdenominational Boards is the educa- 
tional work accomplished through the united study of the 
mission fields. 



The Hand of Woman 221 

United Educational Work. 

The Central Committee for the united study of Foreign 
Missions, which was really the mother of the Federation of 
Women's Boards for Foreign Missions, was an outgrowth 
of the great Ecumenical Conference held in New York 
City in 1900. Each year since that time a Foreign Mission 
Textbook has been prepared for the use of the Woman's 
Missionary Societies and the circulation of these books has 
increased from year to year until at the close of 1915 one 
million two hundred thousand (1,200,000) books had been 
sold. In 1906 this same Committee began the publica- 
tion of a Junior Foreign Mission Textbook, sales of which 
averaged about ten thousand copies a year. 

The Council of Women for Home Missions, which was 
organized in 1908, has published eight Home Mission 
Study Books, which have had a circulation of about two 
hundred and seventy thousand (270,000) volumes. Very 
valuable educational work has also been accomplished by 
this organization in promoting the teaching of English to 
the immigrants. 

Woman's Work in the Presbyterian Church, U. S. 

Notwithstanding the fact that the women of the South- 
ern Presbyterian Church were among the first in America 
to organize local missionary societies, that denomination 
was the very last of all evangelical churches to perfect 
the organization of its woman's work into a systematic 
plan which should unify their entire work in the denomina- 
tion. 

Early Missionary Societies. 

The early missionary societies of the Presbyterian 
Church in the South, which were among the first organized 
in America, have a history that is most interesting. 

The first woman's organization in the South of which we 



222 The Task That Challenges 

have an authentic record is the "Female Bible Society of 
Richmond and Manchester", which was organized in 1817 
as an auxiliary to the Bible Society of Virginia. Miss Jane 
Rutherfoord, Historian of the Virginia Synodical Auxiliary, 
in a most interesting paper read before the East Hanover 
Presbyterial Auxiliary, said: "This Society was inter- 
denominational and held meetings annually at their re- 
spective churches, ministers of different denominations 
presiding. At the meeting in the Second Presbyterian 
church, over which Right Reverend Bishop Moore pre- 
sided, he recommended that the members should feel it a 
duty two or three weeks previous to the annual meeting to 
'converse as much as possible on the importance of the 
Bible cause amongst ourselves and throughout the world.' 
On March 31st, 1834, after an address from Mrs. Graves, 
a missionary from Bombay, when the Spirit of the Lord 
seemed to rest with great power on the women, they de- 
cided to set aside the old Constitution and adopt a new 
one better adapted to the state of the Church and promised 
to raise $1,000 the same year 'to send the sacred Scriptures 
for distribution among the heathen.' 

The second society in our bounds of which we have any 
knowledge is the Ladies' Benevolent Society of New 
Providence church (Lexington Presbytery), Virginia. 
This Society, organized in 1819, is still in a flourishing con- 
dition and was even at that early date organized on the 
"circle plan" to meet the needs of a scattered country con- 
gregation. The following constitution, written in most 
beautiful script by the clerk of the session at that time, 
was given to the Society for its guidance. The organiza- 
tion has adopted some changes, but is still guided in the 
main by this constitution : 



The Hand of Woman 223 

"Constitution of Female Benevolent Society of 
New Providence Church. 

"New Providence, November 24, 18 iq. 

Impressed with the belief that it is our duty to promote 
the Redeemer's kingdom by every means in our power, we 
the subscribers having met agreeable to notice and formed 
ourselves into a society for the aforesaid purpose do adopt 
the following constitution vvs.: 

1st. The name of the association shall be the Female 
Benevolent Society of New Providence Church. 

2nd. The object of the society is to raise money for the 
support of missionaries to aid pious young men to qualify 
for the ministry or any other benevolent cause said society 
may think best. 

3rd. None but females shall be members of this society, 
but donations will be gratefully received from any one. 

4th. Any female may become a member by paying fifty 
cents at the time of subscribing and continue a member 
so long as she pays fifty cents a year. 

5th. There shall be a stated meeting of the society on 
the first Wednesday of September at the aforesaid church. 
At each meeting there shall be nine managers chosen to act 
for one year. 

6th. Said managers shall appoint out of their own body 
a president and vice-president and also from their own 
body or from the members of the society a treasurer and 
secretary. It shall be the duty of the treasurer to receive 
all monies collected by the society and to pay away the 
same as directed by the managers. The secretary shall 
keep a fair record of the proceedings of the society. Said 
managers shall meet on their own adjournment, conduct the 
concerns of this association and make a report to the society 
at their annual meeting. 



224 



The Task That Challenges 



ANCIENT MEMORIAL TABLET 




Monument in Cross Creek Cemetery which bears 
the following inscription: 

"Sacred to the memory of our Pastor, Rev. James 
Douglas," etc. 

Erected by the Female Juvenile Missionary Society 
of Fayetteville Presbyterian Church, in 1837. 



The Hand of Woman 225 

7th. At each annual meeting there shall be a sermon 
delivered by a minister, if one can be procured, and every 
meeting shall be opened and concluded with prayer. 

8th. Each member shall be entitled to one vote and the 
constitution may be amended at any annual meeting, two- 
thirds of the members concurring." 

Most interesting indeed is the following account by Mrs. 
Lauchlin Donald of two of the oldest missionary societies 
in the Presbyterian Church of North Carolina: "In the 
effort to honor their guests to the Presbyterial meeting, 
things new and old were brought out from their treasure 
house, and their precious heirlooms arranged for inspection. 
Near the pulpit was displayed a beautiful old communion 
service, consisting of the usual tankard and goblets, and 
two silver baskets of antique design. Two of these pieces 
bear the following inscription: 'Presented by a Society of 
Young Ladies to the Presbyterian Church of Fayetteville, 
September 20th, 1824.' The sessional record book has 
this entry for March 29th, 1828: 'A Society of Young- 
Ladies have presented to our church for sacramental pur- 
poses, the following vessels of silver plate,' etc. That this 
Young Ladies' Society was a Missionary Society is proven 
by the fact that it is referred to as the 'Young Ladies' 
Missionary Society' in a sessional record of 1831. This 
silver has been in continuous use by this congregation 
until the adoption of individual cups, the baskets still 
being retained as part of the present service. But to ses- 
sional records and old silver is added the testimony of 
enduring marble. Across the creek from the church, in 
the old Cross Creek Cemetery, stands a monument bear- 
ing this inscription: 'Sacred to the memory of our Pastor, 
Rev. James Douglas, etc. Erected by the Female Juvenile 
Missionary Society of Fayetteville Presbyterian Church, 
in 1837.' Can it be wondered at that the descendants of 
this Young Ladies' Missionary Society of 1824 and this 
juvenile society of 1837 are enthusiastic missionary work- 
ers?" 



226 The Task That Challenges 

Of peculiar interest is the history of the Woman's Mis- 
sionary Society of the First Presbyterian church of 
Augusta, since in that historic church was held the first 
General Assembly of the Southern Presbyterian Church in 
1861. The memorial volume of the centennial celebration 
of this church contains the following: 

''Almost as old as the century which nearly spans the 
modern missionary movement is the Ladies' Foreign Mis- 
sionary Society of our beloved church. In July, 1828, the 
'Missionary Herald' of the Presbyterian Church records a 
contribution from the Ladies' Foreign Missionary Society 
of the Presbyterian church of Augusta. Until 1833 an 
annual acknowledgment of contributions from the same 
source was made by that paper. Annual meetings only 
were held, and the Sunday following a sermon on missions 
was preached to the congregation. Missions in Bogota, 
Armenia, Brazil and China were aided at various times by 
this society. The first meeting duly recorded occurred on 
February 3rd, 1845. The education of an Armenian girl, 
besides money given in other directions, then constituted 
the work of the society, which had a membership of fifty- 
eight and observed a monthly concert of prayer for all 
missions." 

Missionary societies in the local churches increased in 
number slowly as the years passed. Not until the year 
1905 was a report of the Women's societies made to the 
General Assembly, at which time there were about 1,100 
societies. 

Presbyterial Organizations. 

Twenty years before this, however, two consecrated 
women, Mrs. Josiah Sibley, a beloved "Mother in Israel," 
of Augusta, Georgia, and Miss Jennie Hanna, of Kansas 
City, Missouri, a young girl filled with the divine 
optimism of youth, had started a campaign among the 
societies of the church for the organization of Presbyterial 



PIONEERS IN WOMAN'S WORK 




^^7^*- f<£t *«££& 



228 The Task That Challenges 

Unions. They met with a quick and general response 
from their sisters in the church, but not so cordial an ap- 
proval from the brethren. There were throughout the 
Assembly at that time ministers akin to the pastor in 
Michigan who, some fifty years ago said, "I am always 
present at the meetings of the women of my church, for 
no one knows what they would pray for if left alone." 
However, the women interested in better organization 
had the hearty support and sound counsel of the Secretary 
of Foreign Missions, Dr. M. H. Houston, and many other 
leading ministers, and in 1888 two Presbyterial Unions 
were organized, the first East Hanover, Virginia, with Mrs. 
Sarah Price as President, and the second, Wilmington, 
North Carolina, with Mrs. B. F. Hall President. These 
unions had the approval of their Presbyteries and were 
quickly followed by others until within a short time a score 
of unions were organized. 

Synodical Organization. 

Organization was now moving a little more rapidly. 
Seventy years and more had elapsed between the organiza- 
tion of the first local society and the first Presbyterial 
union. Sixteen years passed before the third step was 
taken — in uniting the Presbyterials into Synodicals. 
The first Synodical organization of the women of the 
Southern Presbyterian Church was perfected in Virginia, 
in 1904, with the approval of the Synod and as a direct 
result of the untiring efforts of Mrs. J. Calvin Stewart 
and her band of noble helpers. The Synodical of Texas 
was organized a few months later in the same year, and 
Alabama followed next in order. 

The Woman's Auxiliary Organized. 

The year 1911 found us with seventy-eight out ol eighty- 
four Presbyteries and five out of fourteen Synods organized 
for woman's work, but apparently no nearer than before 



The Hand of Woman 229 

to any general organization. Miss Jennie Hanna, in her 
*' 'History of the Woman's Auxiliary," says: 

"All over the South there were women of practical 
ability and faith who recognized the waste of power and 
opportunity because we were only scattered units, not 
utilizing one particle of the strength and inspiration of 
concentration of forces. When the Woman's Jubilee was 
celebrated from the Pacific to the Atlantic in 1910 and 
1911, celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of Woman's 
Organized Work, when the Woman's Boards of all denomi- 
nations shared the conferences of experienced workers, 
exchanging invaluable plans for larger efficiency and 
realizing the blessed fellowship, which is the bond of 
Christian unity, the Southern Presbyterian Church was 
the only evangelical denomination in this whole country 
which had no central organization of its women, no com- 
prehensive record, no accurate reports of their splendid 
work. . . . With women of zeal and consecration 
who had labored grandly for missions, we had not one word 
of history or achievement in proper shape to add to the 
glorious Jubilee records! Certainly the time was fully 
ripe for wiser conduct of our work. Mrs. W. C. W 7 ins- 
borough grasped the full significance of the situation. 
All the spring and early summer of 1911 the necessity of 
uniform organization under the leadership of one efficient 
woman became more impressed upon her heart. Finally 
she wrote out 'Some Reasons Why a Woman Secretary of 
Woman's Work is Needed in the Southern Presbyterian 
Church,' and at once sent the paper to Mrs. D. A. Mc- 
Millan, President of Missouri Synodical, asking her co- 
operation". 

Mrs. McMillan vigorously set about to secure the 
approval of the women of the Church, with the result 
that in October, 1911, the Woman's Synodical of Missouri 



*History of the Woman's Auxiliary, by Jennie Hanna. Published 
by Woman's Auxiliary, Atlanta, Ga. — 10 cts. 



230 The Task That Challenges 

asked the Synod of Missouri for its approval of an overture 
to the General Assembly requesting the appointment of a 
woman secretary of woman's work, whose business should 
be the completing of the organization of the women of the 
Church, standardizing the activities of the various branches, 
and promoting missionary education in the various or- 
ganizations. Receiving the unanimous approval of the 
Synod, a committee was appointed to promote the cam- 
paign for better organization among the women through- 
out the Church. This committee consisted of Mrs. W. 
C. Winsborough and Miss Jennie Hanna, thus bringing 
again into the campaign the wise counsel of Miss Hanna 
who, though many years an invalid, had never lost her 
early interest in perfecting a general organization. So 
quickly did the missionary women rally to the plan of 
better organization that the overture went before the 
General Assembly with the approval of all of the five 
Synodicals then organized, forty-one Presbyterials, one 
Synod and four Presbyteries. The overture was granted 
without a dissenting voice by the General Assembly in 
session at Bristol, May, 1912, and a Supervisory Com- 
mittee, consisting of the four Executive Secretaries of the 
Church was appointed to guide and direct the work and 
to select the woman "Secretary," to be known hereafter 
as Superintendent of Woman's Work. In August, 1912, 
the supervisory committee met at Montreat in conference 
with the presidents of the five Synodicals and other lead- 
ing women of the Church and formally erected the organiza- 
tion known as the Woman's Auxiliary of the Southern 
Presbyterian Church. In addition to the steps already 
approved by the Church, viz., Local Society, Presbyterial 
and Sy nodical, they added another, known at first as 
Woman's Council, afterwards the Woman's Advisory Com- 
mittee. This body consisted of the Synodical Presidents 
and was organized for the purpose of conferring with the 
Executive Secretaries and the Superintendent of Woman's 



The Hand of Woman 231 

Work. They selected at this time Mrs. W. C. Wins- 
borough to fill the office of Superintendent of Woman's 
Work. 

Thus, after almost one hundred years of organized work 
for missions, the women of the Southern Presbyterian 
Church secured an effective, logical, systematized organiza- 
tion for their missionary activities. 

The Plan of the Auxiliary. 

The accompanying diagram illustrates the form of or- 
ganization given to the women of the Church by our Gen- 
eral Assembly. This plan has some special features which 
are characteristic of our denomination. 

Auxiliary in Nature. 

First: The organization is entirely auxiliary in character. 
The executive unit of the organization is the mis- 
sionary society of the local church which acts under the 
control of its session in true Presbyterian style. The 
Presbyterials, Synodicals, Woman's Advisory Committee 
and Superintendent only recommend courses of action 
and have no authority inherent in them. The entire or- 
ganization is very closely allied with the organization of 
the Church proper through special committees appointed 
in Synods and Presbyteries for co-operating with the cor- 
responding woman's organization. The Supervisory Com- 
mittee appointed by the General Assembly assists and co- 
operates with the Woman's Advisory Committee and the 
Superintendent of the Woman's Auxiliary. Thus we have 
a harmonious, practical and thoroughly Presbyterian form 
of organization which grants to the woman's work the high- 
est efficiency and at the same time emphasizes the unity 
of the church membership. 



232 



The Task That Challenges 



THE WOMAN S AUXILIARY 

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH U.S. 

SUPT.'S rr 



x / \ V 

JT* /SIXTEEN SYNOPICALS \ Q 




EIGHTY-TWO PRESBYTERIALS - 



TWENTY SIX HUNDRED LOCAL SOCIETIES 
70,000 MEMBERS 



ALL THE WOMEN OF THE CHURCH (ABOUT 200,000) 
— PRAYER — 




our aim: 



MTHEWOMI 
OFTHJ 
CHURC 



FO 



THE WOMEN 
IE 

IRCH 
THESE FIGURES ARE FOR YEAR 1916 




A I I THE CAUSES 
R /\| OF THE 

/ALL CHURCH 



The Hand of Woman 233 

Includes All the Causes of the Church. 

Second : The Woman's Auxiliary includes in its activities 
all departments of the work of the Church proper. The 
first missionary organizations of the Church were only for 
Foreign Missions, Home Missions being added to their ac- 
tivities later. At the time of the organization of the Auxili- 
ary, however, the women of the Church had come to see that 
all departments of the work of the Church are truly mis- 
sionary in character and that Christian Education and 
Ministerial Relief, Sunday School and Young People's 
Work are both necessary factors in the work of evangelizing 
the world and hence deserved their share of recognition 
in the study, prayers and gifts of the Woman's Missionary 
Societies. The effect of this feature of our work has be- 
come apparent during the short life of our organization 
in a broader education and deeper interest in all of the 
agencies of the Church on the part of the societies. Each 
Society, Presbyterial and Synodical conforming to the 
Assembly's plan has among its officers secretaries repre- 
senting the causes of the Church, and thus the Society re- 
ceives a well-rounded missionary education. 

Gifts Apportioned in the Assembly's Percentages. 

Third: A third characteristic of the organization of the 
Woman's Auxiliary is the approximate proportioning of 
our missionary gifts to the various causes of the Church in 
the percentages which are given the Church at large by the 
General Assembly each year. Until this plan was adopted, 
many of our missionary societies were very limited in their 
interests, information and gifts. A very large proportion 
of the Societies were working only for the needs of the local 
church; some Societies were studying and giving only to 
Foreign Missions; others to Home Missions only. With 
tjie request of the General Assembly that the gifts of the 
7 Society be distributed among the various activities of the 



234 The Task That Challenges 

Churr.h came a desire on the part of the women to better 
understand the causes to which their gifts were to be given. 
Without lessening the gifts or pledges which they had 
formerly been giving to any department of the Church, the 
societies are gradually approximating the percentages which 
the General Assembly recommends in the division of their 
gifts. 

Some Results. 

The wisdom of the action of the General Assembly in 
erecting the Woman's Auxiliary became speedily apparent. 
At the close of the first year the Auxiliary had every Pres- 
byterial and Synodical in the church uniformly organized, 
giving us eighty-two Presbyterials (Texas, Mexican, and 
two Negro Presbyteries were not yet ready for organiza- 
tion), and fifteen Synodicals through which to carry on the 
organized work. Practical plans for increasing the number 
of local societies are being worked out in each of the Pres- 
byterials and the number of members gathered into the 
societies is being greatly increased. 

Educational Work. 

The completion of the organization of the Woman's 
Auxiliary made possible a plan of missionary education 
throughout the various divisions of the organization. A 
comprehensive plan to promote regular study was out- 
lined for the societies and a Year Book of Programs pre- 
pared for their use. From a very small beginning in 1914 
we find that the Year Book of Programs for 1916-17 has 
had a circulation of seven thousand. These programs in- 
clude during the year all the causes of the Church and are 
accompanied by the necessary literature for preparing the 
program as well as material for a series of devotionals 
which sound the keynote of the entire program. Bible 
study and prayer life are thus emphasized in the societies 



The Hand of Woman 235 

as never before and the result is already becoming apparent 
in the quickened interest in Bible classes throughout the 
organization. 

Mission Study. 

Mission Study classes are systematically promoted 
throughout the organization, November being the month 
for the study of Home Missions and February the time for 
the study of Foreign Missions. More than one thousand 
study classes were enrolled last year in our Societies. 

The Missionary Survey. 

Some pages of the Missionary Survey have been set aside 
for the use of the Auxiliary and it has proven a valuable 
educational medium through which to reach the reading 
public of the Church. The church papers have also estab- 
lished a woman's department in which they co-operate 
most cordially with the woman's organizations of the 
church. 

Summer Conference. 

The official summer conference of the Auxiliary occurs 
each summer at Montreat, N. C, and is an important factor 
in the missionary education of the women of the Church, 
especially of the leaders in our organized work. The pro- 
gram includes the teaching of the Bible, Home and Foreign 
Miss on Textbooks, Parliamentary Practice and Story 
Telling, while missionary addresses and group conferences 
of workers make up a practical and enjoyable course of 
study. Some of our Synods have summer conferences at 
which the Woman's Synodical has a part on the program. 
These are found in the Synods of Louisiana, Mississippi, 
Texas and Arkansas, while Florida, Oklahoma and Missouri 
have interdenominational schools in which the Presby- 
terian women take a prominent part. 



236 The Task That Challenges 

Financial. 

It is not possible to secure an adequate report of the 
gifts of the women in our organization because of the vari- 
ous plans of giving which are recommended to the societies 
by their sessions, many societies sending all gifts directly 
to the Church and receiving no record of them. Even with 
this discrepancy, however, we find that in the first four 
years of the life of the Woman's Auxiliary the total gifts 
to all causes increased fifty-six thousand dollars, while the 
increase in membership was more than ten thousand. 

The extent of the activities of the Women's Societies 
and their interest in the Lord's work may be judged by the 
fact that during the year 1916, they contributed for all 
purposes the sum of $439,973. 

Our Young People's Work. 

Realizing the great importance of enlisting the interest 
of our young girls in our organization and of giving them an 
adequate missionary education, each organization in the 
Auxiliary has a Secretary of Young People's Work, whose 
business it is to organize the young people of the church 
into the societies approved by our Assembly and to aid 
them in the conduct of these Societies. They are assisting 
Sunday school teachers to organize their classes, urging 
the teaching of Missions in the Sunday school, aiding the 
chairman of the missionary committee in the Christian 
Endeavor Society, organizing Camp Fire Girls' Clubs and 
in whatever way seems best bringing to the young people 
of the church activities which will interest them as well as 
train them for future usefulness in the church. 

Our Responsibility. 

The women of the Southern Presbyterian Church stand 
face to face with the greatest opportunity which has ever 
confronted them. The missionary call to-day is sounding 



The Hand of Woman 237 

louder than ever before in the history of the world. Oppor- 
tunities, both at home and abroad, are unparalleled. The 
responsibility for carrying on the missionary propaganda 
rests primarily to-day on America. Three great depart- 
ments of work lie before us : First — To enlist in the Auxiliary 
the more than one hundred thousand women in our South- 
ern Presbyterian Church who, although Christians them- 
selves, have not caught the meaning of the Master's last 
great command, "Go ye into all the world and preach the 
Gospel to every creature." Were these thousands of 
women enrolled in missionary societies and giving in the 
same proportion as the members of these same societies 
are now giving, the financial problems of the Church would 
be solved. Second — We face the great responsibility for 
more adequate missionary education on the part of our 
workers. The day is past when intelligent workers are 
willing to admit a partiality for any one of the arbitrary 
divisions of the great work of Missions. The oneness 
of the task is recognized by our leaders and this broad- 
ness of vision must be passed on until all of the members of 
our local missionary societies look upon the problem of 
Missions, whether at home or abroad, as one problem. 
The greatest factor in hastening this understanding is 
systematic study of the work both at home and abroad 
through Mission Study Classes. Third — The third and 
greatest need of the women of the Auxiliary is a better 
understanding of the prevailing power of intercessory 
prayer for the Mission work. Were every member of the 
missionary society a believer in intercessory prayer, the 
power of the mission work at home and abroad would be 
multiplied many times and the needed men and money 
would be quickly forthcoming. The first missionary com- 
mand of the Master was, "Pray, ye, therefore, the Lord 
of the harvest"; and it has been from that day to this the 
greatest need and most important work of the Christian 
Church. 



XI. 
TRAINING FOR SERVICE. 

Through some unaccountable blindness on her part, the 
task that challenges the faith and best efforts of the Church 
escapes observation. In perspective other things more 
plausible magnify themselves at the expense of this funda- 
mental task and dwarf its importance. To prophets of 
God endowed with spiritual vision, and leaders of thought 
and action, who have "understanding of the times, to know 
what Israel ought to do," the supreme task to-day is to 
Christianize Christendom. 

Throughout the ages this one increasing purpose should 
increasingly run. Nominal Christianity, self-satisfied, 
resulted in that unspeakable European situation, which 
to-day makes Christianity a reproach and a byword in the 
mouth of heathenism, and justifies its foes in raising the 
query whether Christianity has broken down. The 
parable of the mustard seed so fires the mind of the Church 
with the idea of conspicuous visible results as to obscure 
the parable of the leavening influence of the Gospel. 

The Necessity of Trained Leadership. 

During the nineteenth century the ideal of Home Mis- 
sion operations expended itself almost exclusively in pioneer 
work as the frontier enlarged its ever-widening bounds. 
Its mission was extensive — entering new territory, or- 
ganizing new forces and building new churches. The 
twentieth century faces a new order of Home Missions. 
It is now not so much extensive as it is intensive. The 
old order of things regarded Home Missions as a "field" 
to be occupied and possessed by the Church, making "Our 
Country God's Country." The new order regards it as 
a "force," to be organized for Christ in Christianizing 



Training for Service 239 

Christendom. The Church must adapt herself to this new 
conception and become obsessed with this new ideal and 
then shape her policies to this new purpose. She must 
awake to the fact that the frontier is no longer in the dis- 
tant and developing West, but everywhere. Long rows 
of tenement houses partly reveal and partly conceal it. 
Every foreign settlement and each suburban town is now 
a new frontier. Many a rural community in the Eastern 
States, by emigration, is committing suicide; and every 
great city, by immigration, is overcrowding — each pre- 
senting alike new and peculiar frontier problems. Once 
the country church was the spiritual recruiting force of 
the nation. Now it languishes and disintegrates and be- 
comes an additional burden on the Home Mission Boards. 
Negroes with their emotional type of religious life almost 
devoid of any ethical basis; mountaineers, isolated and un- 
touched by the stimulating activities of modern life, 
stagnating in hopeless degeneracy; mining towns and mill 
populations utterly devoid of ambition; lumber camps 
bitterly antagonistic to the Church; cities with their 
strenuous life unnaturally stimulated by the commercial 
spirit, sapping the life of the Church as the worldly over- 
shadows the spiritual, are but an incomplete enumeration 
of conditions and considerations which demand unmis- 
takably a new and trained leadership for the Home Mis- 
sion task. 

The necessity of a trained Home Missionary Force is 
equally apparent from another consideration. The en- 
thusiasm of the intensive and extensive Foreign Mission 
propaganda is filling the whole horizon of Christianity 
with its impelling response to the claims of the heathen 
world. Its Student Volunteer Movement and its rallying 
cry, "The Evangelization of the World in this Genera- 
tion," awaken in the Christian heart all the chords of 
heroism, philanthropy, and Christianity, and sweep our 
most consecrated young men, eager to invest their life to 



240 The Task That Challenges 

the best advantage, into the noble army of missionaries, 
attacking the strongholds of heathenism. As a consequence, 
the flower of our Christian homes is being transplanted to 
blossom and yield fruit on heathen soil. 

The talented young men of our seminaries and Chris- 
tian institutions who escape this alluring call for the best 
that Christianity can furnish, are eagerly sought and in- 
stantly conscripted by the wealthy churches and growing 
fields; and even then the demand far exceeds the supply. 
This leaves comparatively but few of the best qualified, 
and largely untrained material for aggressive Home Mis- 
sion effort. To the thoughtful the signs of the times are 
alarming. The churches of the United States have al- 
ways increased in membership faster than the population 
until quite recently; but the last census rudely shocked 
us by revealing an even break, population and Church 
membership during the first decade of the twentieth cen- 
tury gaining each 21 per cent. Will the next decade 
show the Church a laggard in the race? If Home Missions 
are the Life of the Church, the Defense of the Nation, and 
the Hope of the World, do we not face a startling situa- 
tion? In the mathematics of Heaven, what shall it profit 
the Kingdom to win Catholic Brazil and lose Protestant 
North America? From the standpoint of Christianity, 
what shall it profit the world to gain heathen China and 
lose Christian Britain? 

Rev. J. D. Rankin, D. D., Chairman of a Commission 
in the United Presbyterian Church to report on Soul Win- 
ning, has collected some facts and figures, which may well 
give the Church pause, and awaken serious inquiry as to 
the influences affecting the Church and modern life: 

"In 1800 seven persons out of every 100 were members 
of the church. In 1850, fifteen in every hundred; in 1870, 
seventeen; in 1880, twenty; in 1900, twenty-four. Since 
that time the Church has not kept pace with the increase 
of population. Last year our population increased more 



Training for Service 241 

than 2 per cent., while the membership of the combined 
evangelical churches increased 1 4-5 per cent. 

"There seems to be a crisis on. Is there a turn in the 
tide? Is the Church not a match for our twentieth cen- 
tury civilization? Is she inadequate to the demands of 
modern life? Are we to witness the defeat of Christianity? 
Is the great and blessed mission of the Christ to be buried 
under the stony soil of this materialistic age? * * * 
Your Committee is optimistic in every drop of its blood, 
but it is folly to ignore our danger. A Christian unmoved 
is a sentinel asleep. 'Watchman, what of the night?' " 

Changing Conditions Demand Changed Methods. 

The Home missionary, who once needed but self-denial 
and willingness to endure the hardships of new and pioneer 
settlements, now finds himself helpless amid changed con- 
ditions and perplexing environments. As well resurrect 
the militia of the eighteenth century and expect its an- 
tiquated tactics to cope successfully with the machine 
guns and disciplined soldiery of modern warfare; as well 
ask the weavers trained in the handlooms of antiquity to 
contend with the complex machinery of our million-dollar 
plants; as well require the educator of the primitive gram- 
mar schools to match the equipment of the twentieth cen- 
tury university. The Home missionary of fifty years ago 
would be equally outclassed and handicapped by the prob- 
lems of the complicated and complex life of modern so- 
ciety. 

These considerations raise the question of methods, as 
well as reinforce the necessity of a trained leadership for 
Home Missions. What instrumentalities and forces has 
the Church created for the demands of the case? 

1. Doubtless nine-tenths of our Home missionaries are 
prepared for their life work in the Schools of the Pro- 
phets; but theological seminaries are giving the Church 
only a standard brand. Their one purpose, and rightly 



242 The Task That Challenges 

so, is to train ministers of the gospel. They have their eye 
on the churches, and are striving to produce an article 
that will fit the average pulpit. They are not organized 
and maintained to furnish ' 'specialists" for peculiar needs. 
Incidentally they mould scholars, "apologists," teachers, 
and Foreign missionaries, largely perhaps because the 
material itself gives direction to the special product. 
Even where the seminary seeks to "specialize," it labors 
for other products than Home missionaries. 

2. Most Home missionaries, ex necessitate rei, are edu- 
cated in the school of experience. The Home missionary 
at present best trained for his specialty is the product 
chiefly of his environment after volunteering; yet multi- 
tudes are fighting a noble fight against odds, tremendously 
handicapped from lack of special training, and without 
the encouragement furnished by the recognition which 
the Church accords its Foreign missionaries, or even that 
with which a secular corporation rewards its laborers. 

3. Supply and demand are calling into existence prac- 
tical training schools, such as the Bible Training School 
of New York, under the guiding hand of W. W. White, 
and the Training School at Richmond, Va., operated under 
the jurisdiction of our General Assembly, and enjoying 
the best advantages of instruction by the able faculty of 
Union Theological Seminary. These are compelling the 
classical and theological to stand aside in favor of the prac- 
tical, and are furnishing trained workers whose lack of 
literary preparation would forever have excluded them 
from the average theological seminary. They are also 
giving to the work trained women for settlement homes, 
for the slums of our congested cities, and for the Mission 
schools of the neglected mountains. 

4. Two other institutions of a slightly different type have 
entered the field, and are serving a useful and noble pur- 
pose. Bloomfield, New Jersey, and Dubuque, Iowa, were 
founded and are operated to educate and fit men of foreign 



Training for Service 243 

speech to minister to their emigrating countrymen entering 
our ports in ever increasing numbers. These immigrants 
afford unparalleled opportunities for service to men of 
heroic consecration, trained in modern scientific method, 
in sociology, philanthropy, theology, and practical work, 
who by birth and experience have a sympathetic acquain- 
tance with the life, habits, and traditions of their country- 
men. 

5. Along the same line, the Board of Home Missions of 
the Presbyterian Church, U. S. A., is a pioneer in an ex- 
periment which gives great promise of service, by estab- 
lishing "Immigrant Fellowships" bearing one thousand 
dollars each, open to recent graduates of theological semi- 
naries, duly licensed or ordained by a Presbytery, and 
possessing exceptional gifts. "The Fellowship contem- 
plates residence and study abroad in Austro-Hungary, 
Italy, and at other sources of modern immigration, for 
eighteen months or more. The appointment carries with 
it a signed contract to serve the Board of Home Missions, 
upon returning, at least three years." Several young men 
of exceptional ability have enjoyed special training in 
Europe, having accepted these Fellowships, and dedicated 
themselves to specific work among immigrants, and are 
expected to infuse new life into the leadership of the or- 
ganized forces to meet the social and industrial problem 
confronting the Church. 

In our own Church the Executive Committee of Home 
Missions has been pursuing a similar plan by enlisting 
volunteers for life service and locating them in the midst 
of large foreign colonies in our own bounds, where they can 
learn the language and study the economic, social and 
religious condition of these foreigners, to whose spiritual 
welfare their entire life is to be consecrated in sacrificial 
service. 

This provision for trained workers applies, however, at 
present, to only one class. This beneficent work should 



244 The Task That Challenges 

be enlarged to include the Negro, the slums, the frontier, 
and other phases of the work. 

Practical Suggestions. 

1. Do not conditions, needs, problems, etc., warrant the 
enlargement of the typical theological school into the 
University of Theology, with the usual curriculum as a 
common basis, but providing for electric courses, special- 
izing for chosen spheres of service? Instead of Bloomfield 
operated solely and separately for foreign-speaking stu- 
dents, why should it not become a constituent part of 
Princeton, enlarged to include all departments of Missions, 
thus encouraging men to volunteer and specialize for the 
various phases of missionary service? 

2. Professorships might be multiplied and chairs be filled 
by specialists to inspire and train men for specific work. 
Lectureships for Home Missions, on a basis similar to the 
Yale Lectures on Preaching, and the celebrated Bampton 
Lectures of England, should be founded and endowed, 
furnishing opportunities for secretaries, or distinguished 
men with the gifts of eloquence and learning, to create 
enthusiasm for the commonplace as well as the heroic and 
sentimental in Missions. 

Union Seminary at Richmond, Va., and Kentucky 
Theological Seminary at Louisville, Ky., have established 
Lectureships calculated to equip thoroughly their students 
for the practical work of preaching the Gospel to meet the 
needs of this exacting age, and have invited the most dis- 
tinguished scholars to fill these Lectureships; and Colum- 
bia Seminary, S. C, recently employed Rev. W. H. Mills to 
discuss in a series of lectures the subject of "The Country 
Church and Rural Life." These are steps in the right 
direction and will doubtless crystallize in some permanent 
course along the line of practical Home Mission equipment 
for life work. 

3. The present plan of Fellowships to encourage and 



Training for Service 245 

develop specialists in Hebrew is preparing scholars for 
theological chairs. If the number could be multiplied, 
and adapted to training men for Home Missions, they 
would serve the two-fold purposes; not only of developing 
specialists, but definitely committing men to Home Mis- 
sions as a life work by enlisting their sympathies as the 
result of the wealth of information acquired on the subject. 
The greatest difficulty is in hold ng men in the Home 
Mission Fields. Foreign missionaries volunteer for life. 
Too often Home Missions are made simply "stepping stones 
to higher things," as the world estimates service. It would 
serve to win a place of honor in the Church for the Home 
missionary, whose heroic service and life of sacrifice receive 
no proper appreciation at present. 

4. Perhaps nothing would be productive of better results 
than the rigid enforcement of the rule requiring several 
years of service in Home Missions in return for beneficiary 
education. The experience itself would furnish a training 
which possibly, in many instances, would eventuate in 
valuable lives being permanently laid on the altar of Home 
Mission sacrifice Above all other considerations, the 
Church should* agitate till it results in a guarantee of such 
compensation and recognition as will justify and induce 
men of splendid mental and spiritual endowments in ever 
increasing numbers to volunteer for life in this worthy 
cause. 

It is said by scientists that if a new island should emerge 
anywhere in the sea, it would affect the temperature around 
the entire globe. In life the relationships are so interwoven 
that each trivial thing affects indirectly the whole of our 
religious life and thought. If, then, our Home mission- 
aries could be better trained for their task, our own land 
would as a consequence be more speedily and surely 
Christianized, and America becoming a stronger base of 
operations, would more swiftly speed the Gospel "unto the 
uttermost part of the earth." 



246 The Task That Challenges 

Qualifications Required. 

Having directed attention to the urgent necessity for 
training leadership, and having discussed various methods 
of securing practical results, it remains to consider the 
qualifications and ideals demanded of the Home mission- 
ary. These must be kept well in mind, both by the Church 
in its training schools, and by the missionary himself 
who volunteers for service and seeks special fitness for this 
fundamental sphere of Christian activity. 

1. Supremely important is a High Ideal of the Work 
Itself. The illustrious Apostle to the Gentiles led the 
missionary forces of the early church in zeal and efficiency, 
never since surpassed, not simply "in labors more abun- 
dant," but in his estimate of his call, saying, "I magnify 
my office," doubtless one explanation of his unapproached 
success. This is the secret of success in any avocation. 
The Home missionary who would lay substantial and broad 
foundations must be one who preeminently possesses such 
high ideals of his chosen task as to consider it the one thing 
above all others worth while. No other inducement will 
influence one to choose deliberately to inve'st his life in a 
cause which requires the greatest sacrifices of any sphere 
of service, and suffer long-drawn-out martyrdom, "endur- 
ing hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." He must 
"volunteer for the war" and not for a limited period. If 
merely forced into the service because of no other opening, 
he will be at best only a time-server, using his position for 
self-aggrandizement, ready at the first opportunity to de- 
sert the cause. It has been said that "God despises a 
quitter." It is largely a man's estimate of his work which 
determines his untiring perseverance amid hardship, self- 
denials and obstacles, or makes him in a cowardly way 
relinquish it at the first indication of danger or call for 
heroism. Is it worth the cost? Knowledge at this point 



Training for Service 247 

will enable anyone to forecast the result without the aid 
of prophetic genius. 

The halo of glory which encircles the brow of the Foreign 
missionary is well earned, because he cannot be allured to 
a more inviting field. It would be a tremendous sustain- 
ing power to the sorely tried and unrecognized Home 
missionary if the Church itself should elevate its ideals 
of his despised task and make his work honorable among 
men. Till then, it is but common justice to extend charity 
to the deserter who abandons a cause which the Church 
itself does not make worth while either by compensation 
or by honor. David Livingston is always canonized as the 
highest type of missionary hero. Yet there are Home Mis- 
sion heroes like Sheldon Jackson, Gideon Blackburn, 
Daniel Baker, David Brainerd, Edward O. Guerrant, 
W. J. B. Lloyd, who have won the applause of men and the 
recognition of the Church, because they so magnified 
their office as to sacrifice honors and rewards, and devoted 
their great talents to a cause which they adjudged and 
made worth while by sacrificial service. 

2. An essential element in the make-up of a man is a 
healthy optimism. No pessimist ever won eminence in 
war, in business, or in religion. Optimism is not within 
itself the guarantee of success, but is a highly determining 
factor, a sine qua non. Discouragement, in its last analysis, 
is essentially a lack of courage, a species of moral cowardice. 
It is every man's most insidious enemy, paralyzing his 
energies. The hopeful man is everywhere, other things 
being equal, the successful. In business, let "unmerciful 
disaster follow fast and follow faster," and he can ordi- 
narily cope with his difficulties and misfortunes so long as 
buoyed up by hope; but let him once yield to discourage- 
ment, and the financial waves and billows will overwhelm 
and bury him in their flood. The discouraged soldier 
marches to certain defeat, and is whipped before a gun is 
fired. In religion, God refuses to honor a moral coward. 



Sunday School at 

Hell-fer-Sartin, 

In the Kentucky 

Cumberland's. 




Dr. Edward O. Guerrant, 

Founder of Schools and 

Churches in the Southern 

Mountain Region. 




The future pride of 
Breathitt County, 
Kentucky. 



Training for Service 249 

Gideon's band of 300 was stronger after the confessed 
cowards, though 32,000 in number, had thrown down their 
arms and turned their backs to the enemy. Gypsy Smith 
says: "If God has some gigantic task to be performed, 
faith gets the contract" If church history teaches any 
one great lesson, to which there are absolutely no excep- 
tions, it is that the great battles of truth and achievement 
have ever been won by the heroes of faith. 

It seems to be the mission of some to discourage others. 
Ten spies discouraged the hearts of Israel's millions and 
from the very borders of the promised land sent them back 
to die in the wilderness. If their bones bleaching upon 
the sands of the desert could have been gathered into one 
gigantic heap, it would have been a monument to dis- 
couragement, taller than any structure erected by human 
hands. The minister in the pulpit, who above all others 
should inspire with hope and faith, is frequently so pessi- 
mistic in his message as to break the spirit of God's people 
and scatter them in the wilderness of despair at the 
very moment they stand on the border of noble achieve- 
ment. The successful Home missionary must have the 
spirit of Joshua and Caleb, affirming in the face of adverse 
opinion, "We are well able to overcome it." All others 
but lead a forlorn hope. The man who cannot be dis- 
couraged is one who has a firm hold on God, and stands un- 
daunted on the promises. Like Judson, who after seven 
years of failure in India, always answered the inquiry, 
"What is the prospect for India?" by saying, "Bright, sir; 
as bright as the promises of God," the man who sees God 
sees nothing else, neither obstacle nor opposition; neither 
hindrance nor suggestion of failure in God's campaign of 
conquest. 

3. This obviously necessitates and involves the perse- 
verance of the saints, not in the theological sense of the 
term, but in practical experience of work. "Reuben, thou 
art my first born, my might, and the. beginning j}f my 



250 The Task That Challenges 

strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of 
power: Unstable as water, thou shalt not excet. ,J Millions 
of fathers since Jacob's day have moaned in secret and 
wrung their hands in agony over fond hopes blighted 
through disappointment in the instability of their chil- 
dren. The bitterest of all is the disappointment of the 
Church over the failure of her sons, from no lack of ability 
but solely of stability. Tenacity — the simple quality of 
pertinacity — makes all the difference between failure and 
success. 

In every great battle, it is said, there is a psychological 
moment when the fight is lost or won. In one of Stone- 
wall Jackson's brilliant campaigns, he informs us he had 
actually issued orders to retreat when he observed the 
enemy beginning to yield. Rallying his forces, he sounded 
the call to advance, and the battle was won that decided 
the fate of the campaign. Many a Home Mission cam- 
paign has been lost because the leader failed, at the psycho- 
logical moment, where a little perseverance would have 
won the field for Christ. Restlessness is the bane of the 
ministry; it is the undoing of the grandest Home Mission 
prospects. 

In the contest between the States, the fortune of war had 
steadily gone against the North till the stoutest hearts 
grew faint. After another signal defeat the inquiry was 
asked, "Mr. Lincoln, what are you going to do next?" 
The historic answer was returned, without a moment's 
hesitation, "Keep hammering away." Nothing else could 
have subdued the South except that "hammering away" 
of Lincoln in the Cabinet, and of Grant on the field. If 
perseverance does not win, nothing will. In a great demon- 
stration office hangs a tremendous weight. By its side 
is suspended an insignificant cork. The demonstrator 
draws the cork back and lets it fall against the ponderous 
weight. The cork rebounds, and the iron is absolutely un- 
affected. Again and again the experiment is repeated, until 



Training for Service 251 

at length the great weight slowly sways and at last swings 
back and forth, an illustration of the power of persevering- 
effort. If the Church could but secure volunteers for Home 
Mission fields, willing to expend their lives in continuous 
effort, it would be a demonstration of "faith removing 
mountains" in the spiritual realm. God is as powerful 
to-day as of old, and is as willing here as elsewhere, but he 
must needs wait for men of faith and perseverance. 

4. "Add to your faith" — optimism, courage and perse- 
verance, but the great element of success is enthusiasm. 
There is no age limit, no "dead line" in the ministry, ex- 
cept the loss of youthful enthusiasm. Unfortunately 
youth itself sometimes lacks this "one thing needful," 
without which many other splendid gifts are hollow mock- 
eries. Spurgeon once related a dream in which he visited 
a church and saw dead men in the pews and dead men in 
officers' places, and worst of all a dead man in the pulpit. 
The latter is a sufficient explanation. The contagion of 
death in the pulpit will contaminate everything else. 
George Whitefield, Daniel Baker, Dwight L. Moody, and 
others who have attained the greatest success, were men 
who invariably made the impression that they were fear- 
fully in earnest. The world will excuse almost anything 
except half-heartedness. Blood earnestness is one secret 
of most men's preeminent success. 

5. If anything else is worthy of mention, it is activity. 
"Be instant in season, out of season." Closely akin to 
earnestness is untiring toil. As a matter of fact, it is 
earnestness in action. Someone has defined genius as the 
capacity for unlimited hard work. Men with five talents 
wrapped carefully in the napkin of sloth will bury them- 
selves forever in the grave of obscurity, while the owner of 
one talent, if it be kept in perpetual motion, will win the 
highest encomium of the Master, "Well done, good and 
faithful servant." 



252 The Task That Challenges 

"Time worketh; let me work, too. 
Time undoeth; let me do. 
Busy as time, my work I ply 
Till I rest in the rest of eternity. 

"Sin worketh; let me work, too. 
Sin undoeth; let me do. 
Busy as sin, my work I ply 
Till I rest in the rest of eternity. 

"God worketh; let me work, too. 
God doeth; let me do. 
Busy for God, my work I ply 
Till I rest in the life of eternity." 

The Home Mission fields are white to the harvest. The 
greatest need is men, trained for service, ''workmen that 
need not to be ashamed"; but above all things, men en- 
dowed with the qualities of faith, perseverance and zeal 
for soul-winning; and "the wilderness and the solitary 
place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, 
and blossom as the rose. 

"It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy 
and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, 
the excellency of Carmel and Sharon; they shall see the 
glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God. 

"Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble 
knees." 

"Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, 
fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even 
God with a recompense; he will come and save you. 

"Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the 
ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 

"Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue 
of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break 
out, and streams in the desert." 



XII. 
THE CALL TO SERVICE. 

"Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and 
who will go for us. Then said I, Here am I; send me." — The Gospel of 
Isaiah. 

Isaiah was the evangelist of the Old Testament. His 
"Prophecy" might with equal propriety be termed "the 
Gospel, according to Isaiah." Without any impropriety, 
whole sections of it might be transferred to the New Testa- 
ment, and they would not be out of place in their new 
setting. In its very opening chapter is sounded the key- 
note of the Gospel: "Come now, and let us reason together, 
saith the Lord : though your sins be as scarlet, they shall 
be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they 
shall be as wool." The famous 53rd chapter might have 
been written by John, in the very shadow of the cross: 
"Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: 
yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God and 
afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, 
he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our 
peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." 
In the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus to his fellow towns- 
men proclaimed the purpose and scope of his mission, in 
terms of Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, be- 
cause he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the 
poor; He hath sent me to heal the broken hearted; to 
preach deliverance to the captives, and the recovering of 
sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised; 
to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." 

The New Testament opens with its initial command: 
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." But 
Isaiah had said substantially the same thing seven hundred 



254 The Task That Challenges 

years before: "Let the w'cked forsake his way and the 
unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto 
the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him ; and to our God. 
for he will abundantly pardon." In the last chapter of 
the New Testament, just as John, the sole survivor of the 
Apost'es, was in the act of closing the canon of Scripture, 
Christ on the throne stays his hand a moment, in order 
to extend from Heaven his last, the most comprehensive 
invitation of the Gospel: "And the Spirit and the bride 
say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And 
let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let 
him take the water of life freely." Yet Isaiah, eight 
hundred years before, had said substantially the same 
thing: "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the 
waters; and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; 
yea come, buy wine and milk without money and without 
price." Has the Church even to-day a clearer evangelistic 
note? 

The Call of Isaiah. 

In the sixth chapter, Isaiah records his call to the pro- 
phetic office, consisting of a series of supernatural visions. 
The first was a vision of God: "I saw also the Lord sitting 
upon a throne high and lifted up * * . * Above it 
stood the seraphim * * * And one cried unto another 
and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts: the whole 
earth is full of his glory." This is followed by a vision of 
self: "Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because 
I am a man of unclean lips * * * for mine eyes have 
seen the King, the Lord of hosts." This prepares the way 
for a vision of Grace: "Then flew one of the seraphim 
unto me, having a live coal * * * and said, Lo this 
hath touched thy lips; and thine niquity is taken away 
and thy sin purged." The climax is reached in a vision of 
duty: "Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom 
shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, here am 



The Call to Service 255 

I; send me." These visions occur in a perfectly natural 
and logical order. A vis'on of God's holiness leads always 
to a sense of our unworthiness, which prepares the way for 
the application of divine grace; and the three focus upon a 
vision of duty. 

The Modern Call to Service. 

The call of God to serv ce is the same in all ages. It 
matters not whether i was the call of Isaiah to the pro- 
phetic office two thousand, six hundred years ago, or 
whether t is a call to the ministry in this twentieth 
century. It matters not whether the ca 1 l comes from 
heathen China or is a Macedonian cry from the heart of the 
Appalachian Mountains. It matters not whether it is a 
call to s and in the pulpit and herald the glad tidings, or 
whether it is a call to serve as a lay worker in some humble 
sphere of service. It matters not whether heard in an 
audible voice from Heaven, or in the ''still small voice" in 
the human soul; the call is the same, "Whom shall I send; 
and who will go for us?" And the response of the volun- 
teer is the same: "Here am I; send me." 

God is still calling, by divine providence, by His inspired 
Word and by His Holy Spirit. Conspiring together, they 
constitute the elements which enter into the modern call. 
On'y those with sp ritual ears hear and recognize the voice 
of God, though He speaks today in three different ways: 

1. Opportunity Beckons. 

The very analysis of the word opportunity is signifi- 
cant, being derived from two Latin terms, "ob," equivalent 
to "at," "before" or "over against," and "portus," the 
"gate." Opportunity, therefore, is whatsoever stands 
before our door challenging attention, or which confronts 
us in our path, demanding the hearing of its claims. The 
call of opportunity is as truly the call of God as if uttered 
in an audible voice from Heaven. Where opportunity 



256 The Task That Challenges 

speaks emphatically, God speaks authoritatively. Ordi- 
narily it carries with it the suggestion of compensation as 
well as obligation. In the business world, opportunity 
is an investment which promises large dividends. In the 
religious realm, it is a challenge that suggests "fields white 
unto the harvest," which promises the reward of golden 
sheaves. Always and everywhere, opportunity contains 
within itself the inherent thought of obligation, with its 
alt rnative of rewards or punishments. 

In the Home Mission Sphere. 

The first suggestion, as a representative of the organized 
Home Mission Agency of the Church, to the call of oppor- 
tunity is along the line of denominational advantage. The 
effort has been made to interpret the calls of divine provi- 
dence and to give to each opportunity a voice: 

Wide open doors challenge the Church, inviting entrance 
with the promise of rich rewards, the indirect advancement 
of the Kingdom of Heaven by means of specific and im- 
mediate denominational gains. 

By Way of Illustration. 

Illustrations are hereby cited from the sphere of Home 
Missions, to substantiate and enforce the premise that 
opportunity is the call of God, which carries with it the 
inherent suggestion of compensation. Only a few years 
ago Southwestern Oklahoma, just being opened to white 
settlers and rapidly developing in economic and social 
wealth, contained no official representative of the Presby- 
terian Church, U. S. The case was laid before the 
Woman's Missionary Society of the Central Presbyterian 
church, Atlanta, Ga., which offered to furnish the salary 
for employing an evangelist. Rev. H. S. Davidson was 
engaged for this work, and the first result was the organ- 
ization of a church at Mangum, with 17 members. As the 



The Call to Service 257 

outcome of entering this door of opportunity, the Presby- 
tery of Mangum sprang into existence, so named, not in 
honor of the largest city within its bounds, but of the first 
church organized. Its last report indicates that this Pres- 
bytery now contains 12 ministers, 25 churches, 1,300 com- 
municants, and contributed in one year over $15,000. Was 
this opportunity the call of God, judged by the manifest 
favor of "The Lord of the Harvest?" Was there ever in- 
vestment rewarded with richer financial and spiritual 
dividends? 

The Argument Reenforced. 

In Southwest Texas, along the Rio Grande River, land 
which had never produced anything except mesquite 
bushes and sage brush, could have been bought by the 
county at one dollar per acre. At length came irrigation, 
and the same land sold readily at from $100 to $200 per 
acre, and often paid for itself the first season in truck farm- 
ing. Then followed railroads and prosperous towns, as 
population poured in. In all that splendid section, the 
Presbyterian Church was not represented until Rev. 
Samuel McPheeters Glasgow, of Union Theological Semi- 
nary, Virginia, heard the call of God, and answered, "Here 
am I; send me." In an incredibly short time he had or- 
ganized and built churches at Mission, McAllen, Mercedes, 
Donna, Harlingen and San Benito, which further resulted 
in the building of mission chapels for the Mexicans in the 
same region. Rev. M. W. Doggett, the efficient and faith- 
ful evangelist, organized in the same general section fifteen 
churches in fifteen months. The development of the work 
is limited only by the ability of the Executive Committee 
of Home Missions to furnish men and means proportionate 
to the opportunity. These churches will be a tremendous 
factor in the near future for propagating the faith in con- 
tiguous territory, and their influence will ultimately ex- 
tend unto the uttermost ends of the earth. 



258 The Task That Challenges 




Our "Farthest West" 
Home Missionary, 
Rev. L. O. Cunningham, 
and Family. 




;f****iWSWW< t 



The Manse at Lovington, New Mexico, built principally by his own labor. 



The Call to Service 259 



At Random. 



Illustrations abound everywhere and press their claims for 
recognition. Among the neglected millions of the Appala- 
chian mountains, are communities "far from the world's 
madding strife," ready to prove the contention — Hazard, 
Ky., for example. In this mountain village, far from rail- 
road and modern conveniences of civilization, was gathered 
the nucleus of a small Presbyterian church. Unable to 
secure a minister, with the inadequate means at its com- 
mand, the Home Mission Committee at Atlanta sent a 
woman, Miss Adams, to represent Christ and His love. 
She kept alive the Sabbath school, stimulated the Woman's 
Society, and acted as Bible woman and spiritual guide for 
months. Finally the railroad penetrated this mountain 
fastness, the church grew, and a pastor was secured. 
Afterward, in services lasting one week, conducted by Rev. 
J. A. Bryan of Birmingham, Ala., there were fifty-nine 
additions to the church, which is now practically self- 
supporting. The story of Highland School, at Guerrant, 
Ky. ; Beechwood Seminary, at Heidelberg, Ky.,and Stuart 
Robinson School, at Blackey, Ky., are additional illustra- 
tions of opportunities that voiced the call of God and richly 
rewarded effort and expenditure. 

Opportunities Past and Passing. 

Among the multitudes of opportunities which have been 
calling insistently and persistently, only a few compara- 
tively could be seized. Many which once called loudly are 
gone forever. They will never come again. Their voice 
is now only a memory, and a part of the silent and irre- 
parable past. Men tell us that during the night following 
a sanguinary battle, cries of anguish are heard, piteously 
calling for water or relief from pain; and then, with the 
passing hours, one by one these voices are hushed by death. 
The next day an ominous silence prevails, where but lately 



260 The Task That Challenges 

these opportunities to relieve suffering called so appealingly. 
They are but typical of urgent Home Mission calls that 
will never again be heard. They are only the ghosts of a 
dead past, which are still left to haunt us. 

Other opportunities more numerous and even greater 
perhaps, have arisen in their stead, and are today the new 
voice of God in human events, urging the Church to know 
its day of opportunity, "Saying, If thou hadst known, 
even thou, at least in this thy day * * ." 

Specimens. 

Katherine M. Barton in graphic language describes the 
greatest irrigation enterprise in the world: 

"One hundred and twenty miles north of El Paso, 
guarding the entrance to a series of rock-walled canons and 
gorges of the Rio Grande, stands an extinct volcano, Ele- 
phant Butte by name. Elephant Butte is today looking 
down on a bit of constructive work at his feet, which has 
plugged up the river and changed him from a mountain 
to an island. This piece of masonry is known as Elephant 
Butte Dam, and has created the biggest made-to-order 
water factory in the world, impounding more water than 
the great Roosevelt and Assouan Dams combined. 

"The Elephant Butte is about four thousand feet above 
the sea, and though for the most part unproductive, this 
desert condition is due solely to the lack of adequate irri- 
gation facilities. In reality there is no corner of the earth 
potentially richer than the Rincon, Mesilla, Las Palomas 
and El Paso valleys. 

"In 1904 the National Irrigation Congress held a session 
in El Paso. At this meeting a plan was projected for con- 
structing across the Rio Grande a concrete dam. Elephant 
Butte was chosen as the site of operations. Seven million 
two hundred thousand dollars was estimated as the total 
cost. It was necessary to go down eighty-five to one hun- 
dred feet before a sure foundation could be obtained for 



The Call to Service 261 

the ponderous wall of masonry, which now rises two hun- 
dred and fifty feet above low water. This, the largest 
irrigation dam in the world, is twelve hundred feet long; 
the roadway on top is eighteen feet wide, while the maxi- 
mum width at the base is twelve times as great. 

"The reservoir behind this wall is forty-five miles long 
and has a shore line of two hundred miles. The storing of 
water began in February, 1915, and this artificial lake, 
now full, contains over eight hundred and sixty billion 
gallons, enough water to cover the state of Massachusetts 
to a depth of six inches; or again, enough to fill seven pipes 
four feet in diameter, reaching from the mountain island 
of Elephant Butte to the moon. 

"It will irrigate one hundred and eighty thousand acres 
of arable land, mostly in New Mexico and Texas, thereby 
increasing the present value of these farming lands two 
and four-fold, and when planted in bearing orchards, as 
high as ten and twelve fold; and will convert the rainless 
Elephant Butte country into the most productive valley 
in all the world." 

A minister voluntarily traveled all the way from Ala- 
bama to Atlanta to tell of the populations pouring into that 
region and to sound the call of opportunity in the ears of 
the Home Mission Secretary. Though the latter has been 
re-echoing the call in the ears of the Church, it is seemingly 
deaf to the appeal; and this opportunity is still calling. 

In the conservative old commonwealth of Virginia, 
where the James and Appomattox Rivers unite, ten miles 
from Petersburg, there sprang into existence recently the 
largest city in the shortest space of time ever known, even 
in our magic land of wonders. Within a few months it 
grew to 30,000 people, comprising in its cosmopolitan 
citizenship a dozen nationalities. The magnitude of this 
Home Mission opportunity temporarily paralyzed the 
Church in its unpreparedness. Daily services were held 
in a cheap, hastily-constructed tabernacle, and there were 



262 The Task That Challenges 

marvelous results, among others the organization of a 
Russian Presbyterian church. In all probability these 
prospects will be dissipated owing to lack of means to con- 
serve results and solidify them into something large and 
permanent. Will the Church hear the voice of God calling 
in this opportunity? 

Recently a delegation from the Synod of West Virginia, 
officially commissioned, appeared before the Assembly's 
Home Mission Committee and startled it with the call of 
opportunity from that mountain state, rich in resources 
and buoyant with hope. The call of God voiced by these 
representatives of this young and vigorous Synod bases its 
appeal upon three facts: (1) Of the total population of 
West Virginia, three-fourths are not identified with any 
branch of the Church; (2) Larger gains in additions to the 
Presbyterian Church, for the money invested, than in any 
other Synod of the South; (3) More unsaved people to the 
square mile in West Virginia than in the whole continent 
of Africa! The Committee of Home Missions, being at the 
limit of its resources, could only timidly promise adequate 
response, provided the Church authorizes it by hearing 
this call of God in the opportunity that challenges. 

Listen to the warning voice of Opportunity, that speaks: 

"Master of human destinies am I, 

Fame, love and fortune on my footsteps wait, 

Cities and fields I walk, I penetrate 
Deserts and seas remote, and passing by 

Hovel and mart and palace, soon or late 

I knock unbidden once at every gate! 
If sleeping, wake; if feasting, rise before 

I turn away. It is the hour of fate, 

And they who follow me reach every state 

Mortals desire, and conquer every foe 
Save death; but those who doubt or hesitate, 

Condemned to failure, penury and woe, 
Seek me in vain, and uselessly implore— 
I answer not, and I return no more!" 



The Call to Service 263 

2. Human Need Appeals. 

The cry of human need is the voice of God calling to 
service. It is just the opposite of opportunity, for it 
promises no speedy compensation. This new sphere of 
Home Missions counts no cost. It expects no substantial 
tangible results. It demands no visible rewards. It is 
exactly the opposite of the commercial spirit of investment 
and dividend. It asks loving sacrificial service in response 
to the Macedonian cry for help. It is the "New Home 
Missions" ; or as styled by Warren H. Wilson, "The Second 
Missionary Adventure," the Student Volunteer Move- 
ment being regarded as the first. 

The Macedonian Cry. 

In all ages this "Man of Macedonia" has stood as typical 
of a call to minister to human need. Do we appreciate 
the significance of the fact that it was a "vision" of need as 
seen by the apostle, and not the conscious and personal 
appeal of the needy themselves? The man of Macedonia 
was not a real person of flesh and blood, but a fantasy 
of the Apostle's mind taking the concrete form of need. 
The Apostle soon discovered the difference, to his infinite 
sorrow. The "vision" representing lost souls was a mute 
appeal, impersonal to the last degree. The Macedonian 
people themselves, repudiated the ministrations of the 
Apostle, and instead of a generous reception, gave Paul 
"stripes and imprisonment." The vision was an altruistic 
conception of the unrecognized spiritual needs of the people 
who consciously refused to acknowledge their own needs. 

The Cry, Whence It Comes. 

The wail of a castaway babe among the bulrushes of the 
Nile touched the heart of Pharaoh's daughter; and shall 
the cry of destitution make a less potent appeal to the 
Church of Christ than to the sympathy of a heathen 



264 The Task That Challenges 

princess? If we had spiritual vision, delicate and sensitive, 
we could see the man of Macedonia beckoning. If we 
had "ears to hear" we could interpret the cry of the desti- 
tute, even though it be "dumb with silence." 

As the million immigrants annually push their way among 
us, even though each man cried in his native tongue more 
appealingly than the man of Macedonia, it would neverthe- 
less be utterly meaningless to us, being uttered in an un- 
known tongue. Yet their sad countenances speak louder 
than words; and their wretched environment is a pathetic 
appeal, though mute, more touching than spoken language, 
as these "strangers in a strange land," with no medium of 
communication and no avenue of approach for Gospel 
light, helpless and lonely, in destitution and despair, 
seemingly lodge their complaint against Christendom, 
"No man careth for our soul." 

Immigrants But Not Emigrants. 

Most pathetic is the cry of need that comes from the 
wretched destitution of those who are immigrants but not 
emigrants. They are immigrants because they come from 
benighted Africa; but they are not emigrants, because 
they did not voluntarily forsake their fatherland. "Like 
dumb driven cattle," bought or stolen, they were trans- 
ported to America in slave ships; and their children and 
children's children have ever since been "hewers of wood 
and drawers of water." In the midst of Gospel privileges, 
many are as "far from the kingdom of God" as their 
brethren in the heart of the Dark Continent. The favored 
few enjoy the services of a native ministry which will 
compare favorably with the average of any people or race; 
but the vast multitude are at the tender mercies of "blind 
leaders of the blind," exploited and fleeced by immoral 
shepherds, or else passed by in utter neglect. Their cruel 
wrongs, their silent sufferings, their neglected claims, 
unite in a mute appeal: "Is it nothing to you, all ye that 



The Call to Service 265 

pass by? Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto 
my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord 
hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger." 

The Cry of the Mountains. 

This is just the opposite of the immigrant. The moun- 
taineer is the purest Anglo-Saxon in America, descendant 
of the Scotch-Irish and Covenanter, kept pure by his isola- 
tion, which is also the cause of his destitution. The Mis- 
sion at the mouth of the Canoe Creek on Kentucky River 
must suffice to serve as an illustration of need in the 
Appalachian Mountains. Its history reads like a romance, 
and is stranger than fiction. Some years ago it was 
famous for its fighting, its rowdyism, and was the home of 
the feudists. Two brothers had built rival stores on oppo- 
site sides of the road, and were threatening to kill each 
other. To save bloodshed, as well as to start a needed 
work of grace, Dr. Guerrant bought one of these stores 
and turned it into a Mission, thanks to the liberality of an 
Atlanta woman. Over the door to-day the traveler reads 
"Brooks Memorial Institute." 

Some time ago Rev. W. E. Hudson conducted a meeting 
here, which was void of results up to the last day. At the 
beginning of the last service, a terrible row was started by 
drunken men at the church door. The whole congrega- 
tion rushed out, but finally quiet was restored. After 
much persuasion the men were induced to come in to the 
service. Miss Bratton, our missionary, sat in the rear 
among them, to prevent a disturbance. The Spirit of God 
mightily touched the hearts of the audience. One of the 
ringleaders went forward and professed conversion, and as 
the result sixteen young people joined the church. They 
formed a Christian Endeavor Society, and now these young 
men lead in public prayer. There is a waiting list at this 
place, of forty-one professing Christians, ready for organiza- 
tion, as soon as the Presbytery deems it advisable. At one 



266 The Task That Challenges 

time there were three barrooms within sight of our Mis- 
sion, one in the United States post office. Now they are 
all closed. One morning there was nailed up near the mis- 
sion a sign which had twenty-four signatures, stating that 
whiskey and gambling would no longer be tolerated; and 
this did the work! 

Our two women missionaries at this place also conduct 
a Sabbath school in the afternoon three miles away, and 
they are called upon by the community for every kind of 
loving service. On one occasion they nursed a typhoid 
fever patient night and day till she recovered. One nursed 
the other through smallpox, and believes that she was 
immune in answer to prayer. One family sent for them 
to pull the teeth of a suffering child, another man insisted 
upon their doctoring the sore foot of his mule, and rewarded 
them in apples for their successful cure. 

Drs. Tyler, Superintendent, and Morris, Secretary, 
making an official visit to this Mission, agreed it was worth 
the long, fatiguing ride to see these happy women, and to 
see twelve young men stand up at the night service as a 
choir and lead the congregational singing, and also render 
a voluntary. These missionaries are teaching by day, 
walking in the afternoons all over that section, ministering 
to the sick, and praying with the people. Some day a 
great stream of mountain boys will pour into our theologi- 
cal seminaries and fill our pulpits, as the result of such 
pioneer work now being done by these consecrated teachers, 
and scores like them. 

Our Emigrating Children. 

Leaving ancestral abodes to make for themselves new 
homes on the expanding frontier in untried environments, 
severing church relationships which cannot be easily or 
entirely duplicated, a million move out annually from the 
eastern slopes of the Atlantic into the great Southwest, 
actuated chiefly by a purpose to retrieve broken fortunes, 



The Call to Service 267 

or to get rich quick by means of promising business ven- 
tures. Dominated so completely by the commercial 
spirit of the age and the reckless abandon of the uncon- 
ventional frontier, they are conscious of no spiritual need. 
Is the Church to become as deaf to the appeal of their 
desperate condition, and as blind to their danger, as they 
themselves are indifferent to their spiritual degeneration? 

j. Humanity's Commanding Call. 

The claims of humanity are the imperative call of God 
to service. This is not entirely synonymous with the ap- 
peal of human need. The latter is individualistic, and 
limited by class or condition. The call of humanity is 
unlimited by time, circumstances, geography, race or 
nationality. It is as wide as the world, as extensive as 
the race, as eternal as the generations of mankind yet un- 
born. Ministering to need is benevolent; responding to 
the claims of humanity is altruistic, while its plea is en- 
forced primarily for the sake of the individual, it is ulti- 
mately for the broader and more compelling cause of man. 
Its nation-wide slogan is: "Save America primarily for 
America's sake, but ultimately for the world's sake." 

At the time the German submarine warfare claimed its 
victims, not solely from the ranks of armed soldiers, but 
of innocent babes, defenceless women and inoffensive 
neutrals, Woodrow Wilson, the President of the United 
States, delivered his ultimatum, not simply in the interest 
of the comparatively few individuals affected, but for a far 
more wide-reaching purpose, as he demanded: "This 
outrage must stop for humanity's sake." It was the grow- 
ing spirit of a Nation which refused China's indemnity in 
compensation for the damage of the Boxer Movement; 
which intervened in behalf of Cuba's liberation ar.d the 
Philippine oppression, with no selfish gain to itself — the 
first token of the coming era of the brotherhood of Nations. 
In a higher sense and with a nobler impulse the Church of 



268 The Task That Challenges 

God must respond to humanity's claims, not solely for the 
relief of destitution among mountaineers, pioneers or 
Negroes, but chief lv to heal the world's sore and remedy 
humanity's ills, supplanting wrongs by the application of 
the active principles of Christianity. 

The Situation Changes. 

One of the favorite epigrams heard repeatedly in mis- 
sionary addresses is, that, "while the nineteenth century 
made the world a neighborhood, the twentieth century 
is making it a brotherhood." The rush of events, the 
rapidly changing world currents of thought and life, the 
sympathetic attitude of nations toward new ideals, are 
forcing the Church to readjust itself to the new age which 
is facing and discussing world crises, world problems, a 
world situation, etc. Suddenly the thought startles us 
that we must begin to assign new meanings to these terms. 
Here in America itself is being enacted a world crisis, here 
must be solved a world problem, and here must be staged 
a world conflict. It has long been recognized that Ameri- 
can conditions and ideals have been keeping the world in a 
.turmoil. The conclusion is insistent that in this new 
world relation it is imperative for America to secure a better 
grasp upon herself for the world's sake. This idea is 
beginning to impart new emphasis as well as world im- 
portance to the Home Mission purpose and issue. In the 
minds of the most far-sighted and profound thinkers of to- 
day, the opinion is rapidly crystallizing into conviction, 
that the spiritual conquest of America looms larger now 
than any other task of the Church. It has not yet taken 
possession of the rank and file, but it will assuredly fire 
the heart of the Church, as the thought develops mo- 
mentum. The Christianizing of not less than seventy- 
five millions in the United States is a task in itself of large 
dimensions, considering the fact that many of this number 
are already nominal Christians, and for that reason more 



The Call to Service 269 

difficult to reach; and the salvation of all is beset by the 
fiercest conflict which can be organized by the forces of 
evil. But that which dwarfs all other considerations is the 
growing conviction of the Church that the winning of 
these seventy-five millions is more essential to the world's 
welfare than any other equal number of people anywhere 
on earth. 

The Cosmopolitan Purpose. 

The effort for the evangelization of almost any other 
nation is largely local, terminating with itself. The 
Christianizing of America is cosmopolitan in its scope, 
having for its objective the whole wide world. The win- 
ning of Africa, India, or China, and the saving of America 
have a common purpose — that of ministering to the 
spiritual need of the individual and the Christianizing of 
the Nation; but the Christianizing of America furnishes 
the additional motive of world evangelization, in solving 
the problem of humanity's redemption. In other words, 
the plea is, Save China for China's sake; but save America, 
not only for America's sake, but more important still, for 
the world's sake. 

If China or Africa could be evangelized to-day, though 
at the enormous cost of the combined wealth of the world, 
it would be worth while. Not a dollar devoted to the evan- 
gelization of the heathen is wasted. Still, Christian China 
and evangelized Africa would be powerless to evangelize 
the world, both from financial and ethnological considera- 
tions. In their abject poverty they are doubtless making 
greater sacrifices to-day than Christian America; but they 
are so hopelessly poor, the majority struggling continually 
with starvation, they could not meet the world's demands; 
and the world cannot wait, in its sore distress, until China 
and Africa are financially prepared for a world propaganda. 
From an ethnological standpoint, race antipathies render 
it impossible for the African or the Chinaman to find an 



270 The Task That Challenges 

avenue of reproach to the other nations of the earth. No 
inferior race has ever been utilized in the Providence of 
God to uplift a superior. On the other hand, God has 
given to America the wealth of the world, and endowed 
the Anglo-Saxon with the very genius for and spirit of 
evangelization. 

To the same effect, in "The Mission of Our Nation," 
Dr. John F. Love, Secretary of Foreign Missions of the 
Southern Baptist Church, bears testimony that the Anglo- 
Saxon, and not the Chinaman or the African, is equipped 
of God for the task, and therefore charged with the re- 
sponsibility of evangelizing the world : 

"The Anglo-Saxon race has the distinctive capacity for 
introducing its policies, its civilization, its ideals and its 
institutions among other peoples. There is not a colored 
race in the world which could evangelize the white race. 
Instinctively the white man feels that he is the colored 
man's teacher, while at the same time his humanity impels 
a solicitude for every race. * * * If all China were 
Christian, the Chinese race very probably could not evan- 
gelize a single American state. All of Africa could not 
evangelize one county of American white people. If the 
Apostles had turned into Asia they might, in the evan- 
gelistic zeal kindled at Pentecost, have established Chris- 
tianity in China. They might have done the same had 
they turned into Africa, but an evangelized Africa, nor 
China, nor both combined, could have evangelized America. 
Indeed, Christianity perished in those parts of these lands 
where it was planted. The Anglo-Saxon people have a 
great capacity for Anglo-Saxonizing other races, that is 
to say, raising them to the standard of their own ideals of 
government, society and religion. * * * 

"The Chinaman is a persistent sort of mortal, but his 
is a persistence against progress. Constitutionally he 
lacks the elements necessary to missionary achievement. 
The Anglo-Saxon civilization has made a steady advance 



The Call to Service 271 

of the world's barbarism and the effete civilizations of 
other nations. What changes have taken place in Asia 
and Africa these two millenniums, except such as the white 
man has instituted? How much better to-day is interior 
China and Africa than on that day when Paul heard the 
cry, ''Come over, and help us," and turned away from Asia 
to answer the call to Europe? What lands have Chinamen 
and Africans subdued? What nations uplifted? What 
literature have they created? What art, what music, 
what poetry have they produced? What sciences have 
they developed? What human benefits have they be- 
stowed? * * * 

"It is plain enough that God should covet a race with 
such powers and such a future for the ends He seeks to pro- 
mote in the world. It is His will that in the day of Anglo- 
Saxon power the testimony, the fame, the influence of the 
race shall be for righteousness and the founding of His 
Kingdom in the world. It is now becoming plain to all 
intelligent men that unless the Anglo-Saxons themselves 
throw away their opportunity, America is to be the seat 
of empire for this race." 

The gifts and calling of God are never aimless; and 
wherever abused or even unused, they are subject to the 
warning: "Therefore I say unto you, the Kingdom of 
God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing 
forth the fruits thereof." If divine providence can be 
interpreted with any degree of certainty, it indicates that 
for humanity's sake the interests of the Kingdom are 
largely entrusted to America. The evangelization of 
Africa and America being placed on the same footing in 
this discussion, as of equal importance from the standpoint 
of their own salvation, surely the intelligent Christian may 
without subjecting himself to the criticism of selfishness 
or narrowness, be allowed to urge this additional motive — 
Save America for humanity's sake. 

Was not this the suggestion and meaning of Ralph 



272 The Task That Challenges 

Waldo Emerson, who insisted: "America is but another 
name for opportunity. Our whole history appears like 
a last supreme effort of divine providence in behalf of 
the human race"? To the same purport, Prof. Park 
argued, "Should America fail, the world will fail," for the 
hopes of humanity are involved in its destiny. In the lan- 
guage of Alexander Hamilton: "It is ours to be either the 
grave in which the hopes of the world shall be entombed, 
or the pillar of cloud that shall pilot the race onward." 
"Here beats the fevered heart of modern civilization, and 
he who wins that heart holds the key to the centuries." 

No man ever had keener perception of the mission of our 
Nation, nor rendered greater service in awakening it to the 
consciousness of its immense possibilities than Dr. Josiah 
Strong, who asserted: "If this generation is faithful to its 
trust, the United States is to become God's right arm in His 
battle with the world's ignorance, oppression and sin." 

Years ago Cressy wrote "The Fifteen Decisive Battles 
of the World." The record of the decisive spiritual battle 
in the gigantic struggle for world supremacy has not and 
cannot yet be written, because that battle is now being 
waged with consummate skill and terrific force. The 
powers of evil have resurrected and called into action all 
the weapons of ages past. In addition to the conflict 
with commercialism, materialism, agnosticism, the battle 
with civilized and cultured paganism has been transferred 
to this country. The battlefield is America; and the stake 
is Anglo-Saxon Christian supremacy. The fierce struggle 
which to-day makes Central Europe a field of blood and 
the whole continent a house of tears, exacting its annual 
toll of blood and treasure reaching into the millions, is 
insignificant compared with the sacrifice of human souls 
and the issues at stake in the conflict with evil. If we 
lose the fight in America, it will affect the destiny of the 
world for generations untold. 



The Call to Service 273 

The Cost of Preparedness. 

Germany astonished the world by her achievements in 
the face of tremendous odds. The secret of her well- 
earned success was her preparedness in the matter of trained 
men, and her abundant supply of the munitions of war. 
The initial failures of the Allies, with greater potential re- 
sources and superior numbers, were pathetic and humiliat- 
ing, due almost exclusively to lack of the immediate 
weapons of war. Then came the patriotic appeal for sacri- 
fice, and the world has never witnessed such prompt re- 
sponse, at such infinite cost of treasure and life laid on 
war's gory altar. The rich yielded up their great for- 
tunes and the poor denied themselves the necessaries of 
life, in order that $108,000,000 might be consumed daily 
in supplying the sinews of war. Mothers who had lost as 
many as four sons on the battlefield did not clasp their 
last and only ones to their bosom in the desperation of 
parental love, but thrust them to the front in the service 
of their country. All this vast expenditure of treasure 
and this shedding of precious blood were willingly offered 
to make more widows and more orphans, to exact more 
tears and more blood, to wring from bleeding hearts more 
agony and from suffering humanity more dying groans! 
Even if this priceless treasure be credited to patriotism, 
what sacrifice and service can the Church exhibit to match 
this frightful holocaust of death? Shall the altars of war 
and of patriotism exact more treasure than is yielded for 
humanity and for God? Church of Christ in America, 
do you realize your world-wide mission in an age on ages 
telling? The impassioned language of Longfellow, ad- 
dressed to the American Republic, could with far greater 
propriety be applied to the Christian Church of America: 

"Humanity with all its fears, 
With all its hopes of future years, 
Hangs breathless on thy fate." 



274 The Task That Challenges 

The Response to Responsibility. 

Now the practical, the fundamental consideration is 
what shall be the response of Christianity to the call of 
God for service? Each individual Christian faces the un- 
avoidable issue. There can be no escaping the responsi- 
bility of a response. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, 
as applicable in this twentieth century as when first spoken 
nineteen hundred years ago, Christ himself suggested three 
alternatives. They are mutually exclusive and they ex- 
haust the possibilities of the case. The final word has 
been said on the subject of attitude towards human need. 
And every individual must recognize himself as enrolled in 
one of the three typical classes, sharply distinguished from 
each other, in the attitude toward the man fallen "among 
thieves," "stripped," "wounded," and "half dead," repre- 
senting humanity fallen in the streets and writhing in its 
agony of wretchedness. 

The Attitude of the Priest. 

"And by chance there came down a certain priest that 
way; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side." 
Is there any special significance in Christ's selecting and 
pillorying in history a minister of religion, as a type of 
man who could pass by human suffering, in supreme in- 
difference, utterly unconcerned? Are ministers of re- 
ligion so theoretical and professional as to make them un- 
sympathetic with the real ills of a suffering world? Was he 
hastening to meet a public engagement, and exalted re- 
ligious service above the claims of humanity? Whatever 
the cause, for some reason human need failed to secure 
his attention, and so he is typical of multitudes so absorbed 
in business, whether religious or secular, as to render it 
impossible to give personal attention or even a passing 
thought to human suffering. Such will sometimes con- 
tribute thousands to public charity, but not themselves 



The Call to Service 275 

to the distasteful task of "visiting widows and orphans in 
their affliction." Many are so preoccupied, that it becomes 
impossible to induce them to consider the claims of real 
need. Personal appeals by the Secretary of Home Mis- 
sions to Christian millionaires have been rewarded some- 
times with the impatient reply: "My charity is already 
pledged in other directions; I have nothing for the cause 
you represent." Is this priest who "passed by on the other 
side" the exponent of your attitude towards the fallen and 
the needy? 

The Attitude of the Levite. 

"And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came 
and looked on him." He was not a minister of religion, 
but he was an assistant to the priest, representing the 
religious activities of the official layman. He was not 
so indifferent as the priest. At least he paused a moment, 
for he "came and looked on him." He investigated the 
case, and ascertained something of the extent of his wounds 
and the nature of his sufferings; and then deliberately he, 
too, "passed by on the other side." He was more culpable 
if possible than the priest, for he turned his back on need 
after at least partial investigation, and hence greater 
knowledge. Investigation always superimposes additional 
responsibility. The Levite is typical of many who will 
listen to cases of suffering, attend missionary conventions 
"to hear the needs presented," or study some mission text- 
book "to learn the conditions prevalent," and flatter them- 
selves that they are "greatly interested in missions," not- 
withstanding the fact that they take no practical part in 
the work and render no sacrifical service. Are you con- 
tent to add to your responsibility by pausing long enough 
to "look" on the needs of the destitute? 



276 The Task That Challenges 

The Attitude of the Samaritan. 

"But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where 
he was, and when he saw him" — If ever man had a good 
excuse to imitate Priest and Levite, it was this Samaritan, 
for "the Jews and Samaritans have no dealings with each 
other." Race prejudice between white and black and the 
caste system of India, was not more pronounced than anti- 
pathy between the Jew and the Samaritan. No Jew would 
have recognized the existence of a wounded Samaritan. 
The woman of Samaria was amazed that a Jew would 
accept even a drink of water from a religious rival ; so this 
Samaritan might justly have said: "Let the Jews take care 
of their own cases." Instead, however, "he had compas- 
sion on him," placed his heart throbbing with sympathy 
next to that of the sufferer ebbing out its life blood, ex- 
hibiting the very spirit of Christ himself, who in this Good 
Samaritan but thinly disguises himself in his sympathetic 
ministrations in behalf of fallen and wretched humanity. 
Compassion and the relief of suffering come frequently 
from most unexpected sources. Fraternal orders and 
voluntary societies sometimes put the Church to blush 
by readier response to the calls of humanity. He who 
imitates the Good Samaritan is following the steps of the 
Master himself. What is your attitude toward the Cause 
of Humanity? 

The most gigantic disaster which has shocked the world 
in this twentieth century was the sinking of the White 
Star Liner, the Titanic, in the North Atlantic, April, 
1912. Imagination can scarcely picture the scene, when 
sixteen hundred human beings stood on the deck of that 
ill-fated vessel in the blackness of midnight darkness, with 
the frozen iceberg waters awaiting them. Wringing their 
hands in the agony of despair, they appealed to heaven for 
help, and sent out their wireless messages in all directions 
over the face of the deep, "Save Our Souls' ' . But seemingly 



The Call to Service 277 

there was no ear in the heavens above that heard, and no 
response from human hand or heart, as sixteen hundred 
souls went down in darkness into those icy waters; and yet 
a ship passed so near that survivors reported that they saw 
the lights of the ' 'Calif ornian" as she hurried on her way. 
Whether not understanding the signals, or else afraid to 
venture into those dangerous iceberg waters, the Cali- 
fornian "passed them by" and left them to their awful 
fate. 

Shall we hear the mute appeal of dying souls, while shall 
we see in a vision of need, hands frantically beckoning for 
help and hear the wail of the lost, and turning our back 
upon their appeal, quietly pass them by in our indifference, 
deliberately leaving them to their wretched fate? 

"The time is short. 
If thou wouldst work for God, it must be now ; 
If thou wouldst win the garland for thy brow, 

Redeem the time." 

When in death's darkness all alone, 

Thy feet can ccme and go no more, 
The Lord preserve thy going out 

From this dark world of grief and sin, 
While angels standing round about 

Sing "God preserve thy coming in." 



APPENDIX 



QUESTIONNAIRE. 



CHAPTER I. 



1. What are the two greatest enterprises confronting the Church of 

the present day? 

2. How are Home and Foreign Missions inter-related? 

3. Define Home Missions. 

4. Show, by comparison, the territorial greatness of America; of our 

Southern Field? 

5. Estimate the proportion of unsaved in the country at large, and 

in the South, who challenge the Church of Christ. 

6. How has this proportion changed with the years? 

7. How have general religious conditions changed? 

8. What did Rev. F. B. Meyer say of America as a Home Mission 

Field? 

9. Mention some foes of pure Christianity. 

10. What do you think of the importance of the Home Mission task? 

1 1 . Give some reasons why it is impossible to divide the Home Mission 

field among the various Protestant denominations, as has been 
attempted in the Foreign Fields. 

12. Is the Presbyterian Church U. S. measuring up to its full respon- 

sibility to the unsaved millions in our midst? 

13. What is the individual responsibility of all Christians in the South? 

CHAPTER II. 

1. On what does the work of Home Missions base its assurance of 

ultimate success? 

2. Give several instances of our staggering national wealth, and ex- 

plain why the South is destined to early financial prosperity. 

3. What is the relation between the geographical position of the 

United States, and its world influence? 

4. How is material development in the South keeping pace with de- 

velopment in the country at large? 

5. As compared with New England and the Middle States? 

6. What do you think of the financial future of the South? 

7. What responsibility do these things entail upon Christians? 



Appendix 279 

8. How is the South specially fitted to conserve and advance the 

Protestant faith? 

9. What is the first thing needed? 

10. What is the relation between Christian giving and living, and the 
extension of the Kingdom of God upon earth? 

CHAPTER III. 

1. Name the Home Mission Agencies in the Presbyterian Church, 

U. S. 

2. Define the spheres of service of Congregational, Presbyterial, and 

Synodical Home Missions. 

3. What is the scope of Assembly's Home Missions? 

4. In what way is Home Missions both "a flying goal," and an all- 

in-one cause? 

5. Give some reasons for the statement that the present missionary 

force of our Church in the West is entirely inadequate to the 
needs of today. 

6. How has the term "The Frontier" changed in its application, and 

tell about some of the new "Frontiers"? 

7. What work among foreign-speaking people in the South is being 

fostered by the Assembly's Home Mission Committee? 

8. What is the call of the mountains, and how is it being answered? 

9. How are we meeting the religious needs of the Negro in the South? 

10. Describe the departments of Evangelism and Sustentation, and 

show how they are correlated. 

11. What are some of the accomplishments of the Departments of 

Church and Manse Erection? 

12. In what way is the Department of Mission Schools one of the most 

important of the Assembly's Committee? 

13. In a sentence, what do you think is your responsibility in connec- 

tion with the work of the Assembly's Home Mission Com- 
mittee? 

CHAPTER IV. 

1. Why is Evangelism of fundamental importance? 

2. What does God's Word say about soul winning? 

3. What about "the foolishness of preaching?" 

4. What is the relation between Christianity and Social Service? 

5. How may "humanitarianism" become a snare to the Christian? 

6. How is this danger to be met by the sincere Christian? 

7. What present-day conditions emphasize the need of personal 

evangelism? 



280 Appendix 

8. Give briefly the evangelistic plan of the Assembly's Committee. 

9. What field is there for personal pastoral evangelism? 

10. How may the individual Christian fulfil his duty as a winner of 

souls? 

11. What did Andrew do after he had "found the Messias?" 



CHAPTER V. 

1. Why are race antipathies sinful? 

2. In what ways was slavery a blessing to the Negro? 

3. Give some instances of Negro progress since emancipation? 

4. Mention some outstanding Negro characteristics, both good and 

bad. 

5. Describe some disadvantages under which the Negro labors. 

6. How has misunderstanding frequently hindered his real advance- 

ment? 

7. Tell about some worthy Negroes whom you personally know. 

8. Why should Southern people specially concern themselves about 

the bodies and souls of the Negroes, as "those who must give 
account"? 

9. Give a brief account of Presbyterian work among the Negroes. 
10. Debate: Resolved — That the presence of the Negro in the South 

has been as much of a blessing to the white man as to the black. 
(Do not confine the discussion of this subject to the material in the 
text-book. Consult other good books, and bring to bear upon it your 
own knowledge and experience.) 

CHAPTER VI. 

1. What is meant by "Church Erection." 

2. Why is this cause of fundamental importance to the life and 

growth of a denomination? 

3. How is it a gauge of denominational loyalty? 

4. Compare the "Church Erection Fund" of the Presbyterian Church, 

U. S., with that of other denominations. 

5. How have certain of our special funds proved the truth of Pro v. 

11:24? 

6. Did our Lord's commendation of the widow's "two mites" in Mark 

12:41-44, lessen the obligation of those who have more to "cast 
in much" into his treasury? 

7. What is the " Semi-Cent ennial Building Fund," and what has been 

accomplished so far? 



Appendix 281 

8. How is such a Fund the best "Memorial?" 

9. Describe another important Fund established by the Executive 

Committee of Home Missions for the benefit of living donors? 
10. What is the special call to us to devise "liberal things" for this 
foundational cause of our Church? 

CHAPTER VII. 

1. What well known sayings emphasize the value of the child? 

2. In what way is education the handmaid of religion? 

3. Compare the educational standing of the larger denominations in 

the South. 

4. How may the Presbyterian Church U. S. regain its former primacy 

in education? 

5. What is the place of the Christian school in the life of the Nation? 

6. Show by figures the importance of the denominational school in 

the life of the Church. 
.7. Mention some incidents that show the need and the value of Mis- 
sion schools. 

8. Among what peoples is the Presbyterian Church U. S. conducting 

Mission schools? 

9. Give two items concerning each. 

10. Give a brief summary of the appeal of Dr. E. O. Guerrant for the 

mountain people. 

11. How has the Presbyterian Church honored itself in honoring Dr. 

Guerrant? 

CHAPTER VIII. 

1. In what way are all white Americans "children of immigrants?'' 

2. Show, by some striking illustration, the volume of recent immigra- 

tion. 

3. Tell how the character of immigration has changed during recent 

years. 

4. What influence is this having upon the Xation; what upon the 

Church? 

5. What have some students of immigrant conditions said about 

present conditions and prospects? 

6. How does our attitude make this a peril or a God-given opportunity? 

7. Describe briefly the missionary work carried on by the Presbyterian 

Church U. S., among the Mexicans in Texas and the Cubans in 
Florida. 

8. Among the people in our midst speaking European languages. 

9. Among Orientals? 



282 Appendix 



10. Mention some incidents of the reflex value of Christian missionary 

work among foreigners in America. 

11. How is immigration affecting our understanding of world-wide 

missions? 

CHAPTER IX. 

1. How have changing conditions affected the Country church? 

2. In what way is the continuance and strength of the Country 

church one of the most important problems of the day? 

3. How are Government, State and Church agencies seeking a solu- 

tion? 

4. Describe some conditions revealed by Rural Surveys? 

5. What contributions have the Steele Creek and other country 

churches of Mecklenburg Co., N. C, made to the religious life 
of that entire section? 

6. How is the extension of "tenant farming" a peril? 

7. What danger attends the "absentee pastorate?" 

8. Why should not the Church be as considerate and as just toward 

its workers in weak or needy fields at Home, as in dark fields in 
Foreign lands? 

9. How may the Country church itself help to improve conditions? 

10. Mention some ways of meeting the needs of the Country church 

of the present day? 

11. Can you suggest a better program for the Country church than 

that proposed? 
N. B. — Carefully compiled and instructive Reading Courses, 
planned by an expert, may be obtained from the United States Bureau 
of Education, Home Education Division, Washington, D. C. Helpful 
literature on agriculture and general rural subjects will be furnished 
free by the U. S. Government Department of Agriculture at Washing- 
ton, and the various State Departments of Agriculture and Agricultural 
Colleges. The general offices of the national Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. 
C. A., New York City, also issue valuable literature on this subject. 

CHAPTER X. 

1. Is woman's interest in Christian work a recent development? Cite 

instances recorded in the New Testament. 

2. What are the two interdenominational organizations of women 

and what educational work have they accomplished? 

3. What was the last evangelical denomination in the United States 

to complete the woman's organization of the Church? 

4. Tell something of the first Missionary societies organized in the 

Southern Presbyterian Church? 



Appendix 283 

5. What was the first Presbyterial Union organized, and what were 

the steps which led up to it? 

6. When and where was the first Synodical Union organized in the 

Southern Presbyterian Church? 

7. What can you tell of the work which preceded the organization 

of the Woman's Auxiliary, and when and where was it organized? 

8. What are the various steps in the organization of the Woman's 

Auxiliary and what do they include? (See the Auxiliary as a 
Triangle). 

9. Give the three characteristics of the plan of the Auxiliary and ex- 

plain each. 

10. Give some results which have accrued from the life of the Auxiliary 

in the way of complete organization, educational work and 
financial increase. 

11. What are the three great responsibilities facing the Organization? 

CHAPTER XI. 

1. Why is the task of the Church a spiritual one? 

2. In what way have changed conditions in our country altered the 

present ideal and scope of Home Missions? 

3. Is the Church keeping pace with the growth of the country? 

4. How is this age of "specializing" affecting the method of training 

workers for Home Mission fields? 

5. Mention several ways in which theological seminaries are broad- 

ening their work, better to meet present needs. 

6. How would the gift of several "Immigrant Fellowships" give sta- 

bility and impetus to the foreign-speaking work of the Church? 

7. What are some of the qualifications demanded for successful Home 

Mission work? 

8. Why is enthusiasm so preeminently a requisite? 

9. Is any man or woman "sufficient for these things?" 

10. What debt does the Church owe her Home missionaries? 

CHAPTER XII. 

1. Why is the book of Isaiah sometimes called "The Gospel of Isaiah?" 

2. In what respect are the messages of Isaiah and of the New Testa- 

ment writers identical? 

3. Give several illustrations of an opportunity, "an open door," being 

a direct call of God. 

4. How have changing physical or social conditions frequently brought 

moral responsibility? 



284 Appendix 

5. Is the fact that no special work is being urged upon us an evidence 

that God holds us responsible for none? Give reasons. 

6. Does ignorance of the Church's work on the part of any members 

absolve them from obligation for that work? Give reasons. 

7. In what sense is human need the call of God? 

8. Mention some of the things that have made the world today, 

even closer than a neighborhood— a "Brotherhood?" 

9. What obligation does this impose upon the Church of Christ in 

America? 

10. What lesson may the Church learn from this terrible world-war? 

11. Apply to our present-day conditions the lesson conveyed by Christ's 

parable of "The Good Samaritan." 

12. Something to think about and answer silently : What would happen 

if we accepted as a direct call of God an opportunity to do a 
definite Christian service? 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



GENERAL AND HISTORICAL. 

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Christianizing the Social Order, Walter Rauschenbusch. The 
MacMillan Co., New York. $1.50. 

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Elemental Forces in Home Missions, Lemuel Call Barnes. Fleming 
H. Revell Co., New York. 75c. 

Heroes of the Cross in America, Don O. Shelton. Missionary Edu- 
cation Movement, New York. 50c. 

Home Missions in Action, Edith H. Allen. Fleming H. Revell Co., 
New York. 50c. 

Horizon of American Missions, I. H. McNash. Fleming H. Revell 
Co. $1.00. 

Leavening the Nation, Joseph B. Clark. Baker & Taylor Co., 
New York. $1.25. 

Missions Striking Home, Joseph Ernest McAfee. Fleming H. 
Revell Co., New York. 75c. 

Our Home Mission Work, Chas. E. Schaeffer. Publication and S. 
S. Board, Reformed Church in U. S., Philadelphia, Pa. 75c. 

Sheldon Jackson, Robt. L. Stewart. Fleming H. Revell Co., New 
York. $2.00. 

The Call of the Homeland, A. L. Phillips. Presbyterian Committee 
of Publication, Richmond, Va. 50c. 

The Christian Ministry and the Social Order, Chas. S. MacFarland. 

The Frontier, Ward Piatt. Missionary Education Movement, 
New York. 50c. 

The Home Mission Task, Victor I. Masters. The Blosser Co., 
Atlanta, Ga. 

The Mission of Our Nation, Jas. F. Love. Fleming H. Revell Co., 
New York. $1.00. 

The New Home Missions, H. Paul Douglass. Missionary Educa- 
tion Movement, New York. 60c. 



286 Bibliography 

The Social Task of Christianity, Samuel Zane Batten. Fleming H. 
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The South Today, John M. Moore. Missionary Education Move- 
ment, New York. 60c. 

What Makes a Nation Great, Frederick Lynch. Fleming H. Revell 
Co., New York. 75c. 

World Missions from the Home Base, J. Ernest McAfee, Fleming 
H. Revell Co., New York. 75c. 

COUNTRY CHURCH AND RURAL PROBLEMS. 

Chapters in Rural Progress, K. L. Butterfield. University of Chicago 
Press. $1.00. 

Our Southern Highlanders, Horace Kephart. Outing Publishing 
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The Church at the Center, Warren H. Wilson. Missionary Educa- 
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The Church of the Open Country, Warren H. Wilson. Missionary 
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The Country Church, C. O. Gill and Gifford Pinchot. The Mac- 
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The Country Church and the Rural Problem, K. L. Butterfield. 
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The Country Church Bulletins, Prof. E. C. Brandon. Chapel Hill, 
N. C. Free. 

The Country Life Movement in the United States, L. H. Bailey. 
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The Day of the Country Church, J. O. Ashenhurst. Funk & Wag- 
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The Rural Life Problem in the United States, Sir Horace Plunkett. 
The MacMillan Co., New York. $1.25. 

The Church's Mission to the Mountaineers of the South, Walter 
Hughson. Church Missions Publishing Co., Hartford, Conn. 75c. 

The Highlanders of the South, Samuel H. Thompson. Eaton & 
Mains, New York. 50c. 

The Southern Mountaineers, Samuel T. Wilson. Presbyterian 
Board of Home Missions, New York. 60c. 



Bibliography 287 

THE CITY. 

Christianity's Storm Center, Charles Stelzle. Fleming H. Revell 
Co., New York. $1.00. 

The Battle with the Slum, Jacob A. Riis. The MacMillan Co., 
New York. $2.00. 

The Burden of the City, Isabelle Horton. Fleming H. Revell Co., 
New York. 50c. 

The Challenge of the City, Josiah Strong. Missionary Education 
Movement, New York. 60c. 

The Leaven in a Great City, Lillian W. Betts. Dodd, Mead & Co., 
New York. $1.50. 

The Redemption of the City, Chas. H. Sears. Griffith & Rowland 
Press, Philadelphia, Pa. 50c. 

IMMIGRATION. 

Against the Current, Edward A. Steiner. Fleming H. Revell Co., 
New York. $1.50. 

Aliens or Americans, Howard B. Grose. Missionary Education 
Movement, New York. 50c. 

From Alien to Citizen, Edward A. Steiner. Fleming H. Revell 
Co., New York. $1.75. 

Immigrant Forces, W. P. Shriver. Missionary Education Move- 
ment, New York. 60c. 

Immigrant Races of North America, Peter Roberts. Association 
Press, New York. 50c. 

On the Trail of the Immigrant, Edward A. Steiner. Fleming H. 
Revell Co., New York. $1.75. 

Our Slavic Fellow Citizens, Emily G. Balch. Charities Publication 
Committee, New York. $2.50. 

Races and Immigrants in America, J. E. Commons. The MacMil- 
lan Co., New York. $1.50. 

The Broken Wall, Edward A. Steiner. Fleming H. Revell Co., New 
York. $1.15. 

The Immigrant, Frederick J. Haskin. Fleming H. Revell Co., New 
York. $1.25. 

The Immigrant Invasion, Frank J. Warne. Dodd, Mead & Co., 
New York. $2.50. 

The Immigration Problem, Jenks & Lauck. Funk & Wagnalls Co., 
New York. $1.75. 



288 Bibliography 

The Immigrant Tide, Its Ebb and Flow, Edward A. Steiner. Flem- 
ing H. Revell Co. $1.75. 

The Making of an American, Jacob Riis. The MacMillan Co., 
New York. $1.50. 

The New America, M. C. and L. C. Barnes. Fleming H. Revell 
Co., New York. 50c. 

The New Immigration, Peter Roberts. The MacMillan Co., New 
York. $1.50. 

The Promised Land, Mary Antin. Houghton Mifflin Co., New 
York. $1.75. 

They Who Knock at Our Gates, Mary Antin. Houghton Mifflin 
Co., New York. $1.00. 

THE INDIAN. 

Goodbird, The Indian, Gilbert L. Wilson. Fleming H. Revell Co., 
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In Camp and Tepee, Elizabeth M. Page. Fleming H. Revell Co., 
New York. $1.00. 

In Red Man's Land, Francis E. Leupp. Fleming H. Revell Co., 
New York. 50c. 

Kiowa, Isabel Crawford. Fleming H. Revell Co., New York. $1.25. 

The American Indian on the New Trail, Thomas C. Moffett. Mis- 
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The Indian and His Problem, Francis E. Leupp. Chas. Scribner's 
Sons, New York. $2.00. 

The Indian Dispossessed, Seth K. Humphrey. Little Brown & Co., 
Boston. $1.50. 

The Story of the Indian, Geo. B. Grinnell. D. Appleton & Co., 
New York. $1.50. 

THE NEGRO. 

Christian Reconstruction in the South, H. Paul Douglass. Pilgrim 
Press, Boston. $1.50. 

Following the Color Line, Ray S. Baker. Doubleday, Page & Co., 
New York. $2.00. 

From Darkness to Light, Mary Helm. Missionary Education Move- 
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In Black and White, L. H. Hammond. Fleming H. Revell Co., 
New York. $1.25. 



Bibliography 289 

Negro Life in the South, W. D. Weatherford. Association Press, 
New York. 50c. 

Present Forces in Negro Progress, W. D. Weatherford. Association 
Press, New York. 50c. 

The Negro Year Book, Marvin N. Work. Negro Year Book Pub- 
lishing Co., Tuskegee, Ala. 25c. 

The Upward Path, Mary Helm. Missionary Education Move- 
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Up from Slavery, Booker T. Washington. Doubleday, Page & Co., 
New York. $1.50. 



Snbex 



A 

Abbeville School 154 

Advantages of U. S 21 

Agricultural Products 20 

Agencies of Home .Missions 32 

Aldrich, T. B., quoted 164 

America, Key to Situation. 15 

Annuity Plan 125 

Appalachia 44 

Area of Territory 3-4-5 

Arguments 257 

Assurances 31 

Auxiliary's Work 231ff 

Attitudes 274ff 

B 

Beiderwolf, Dr. W. E., quoted 72 

Bohemian Mission 179 

Barton, Katherine M., quoted 260 

C 

Call to Service 253 

Catholicism. . . 14 

Causes United 36 

Christian Science. 14 

Church Erection Loans 115 

Conflicting Forces 13 

Comparisons in South 25 

Comparisons of Salaries 206 

Colored Work 45ff 

Country Church 187ff 

Cosmopolitan Purpose 269 

Cost of Preparedness • 273 

Cry of Mountains 265 

Cuban Mission 177 



Index 291 



D 

Decline of Country Church 197 

Doughty, W. E., quoted 4, 7, 20 

E 

Early Missionary Societies 223 

Ecclesiastical Errors 103 

Economic Equipment 22 

Educational Leadership 131 

EUis, Mr. W. T., quoted 15 

Erection of Churches 51, 112 

Equipment needed 126 

Evangelism 47ff , 59, 68, 80 

Evangelistic Campaigns 72ff 

F 

Features of Mission Schools 136 

French Missions 177 

Foreigners in U. S 41f f 

Foreign-Speaking Schools 151 

G 

Goodland. 147 

Grafton, Dr. C. W. . 207 

Guerrant, Dr. E. O., quoted 155 

Guerrant Inland Mission 154 

H 

Hillis, Dr. N. D., quoted 4, 22 

Historic Development 37ff 

History of School Influence 135 

Humanitarianism 65 

Humanity's Call '. 267 

I 

Illustrations 256ff 

Immigrant Tide 160 

Immigrant vs. Emigrant 264 

Importance of Country 188 

Indian 146 



292 Index. 

Influence on Foreigners 180 

Interdenominational Women's Work 220 

Italian Mission Schools 177 

L 

Lay Evangelism 80 

Love, Dr. Jno. F., quoted 2 

M 

Macedonian Cry 263 

Manse Building Fund 117 

Mecklenburg Presbytery 196 

McMillan, Dr. Homer, quoted 15, 144 

Mission Schools 128 

Mission Study 235 

Missionary Survey 235 

Modern Call 255 

Moore Loan Fund 116 

Mormonism 14 

Mott, John R., quoted 2, 15 

Mountain Work 43 

Mountain Schools 150 

Mutual Dependence of Home and Foreign Missions 1, 2, 3 

N 

Need of Schools 146 

New Methods 241 

New Frontier 40 

Negro Progress. 88 

Negro Problem ... 96 

Negro Religion 100 

Negro Missions 101-108 

O 

Objections to Mission Schools. 143 

Opportunities 57, 255, 260 

Oklahoma Presbyterian College 148 

Omission 55 



Index 293 
P 

Pastoral Evangelism 74ff 

Percentage of Church Members 9 

Personal Work 80 

Perils of Immigration 167 

Piatt, Dr. Ward, quoted 3, 10 

Population 6 

Presbyterian Obligation 17 

Presbyterian Rural Work 194 

Presbyterian Organization 226 

Problems 12, 62 

Program for Rural Church 217 

Purpose of Home Mission Committee 34 

Q 

Qualifications of Home Missionary 246 

R 

Race Prejudice .84 

Rankin, Dr. J. D., quoted 63, 70 

Resources 19, 23, 25 

Results of Auxiliary 234 

Revivals 67 

Responsibility 16 

Resolution of Home Mission Council 16 

Rural Situation 203, 216 

Rural Surveys 190 

S 

Sacrifice of Rural Workers 205 

Safeguards 119 

Semi-Centennial Building Fund 118 

Schools 53 

Slavery 84ff 

Situation Changes 268 

Source of Supply 138 

Social Service. 60 

Spiritual Forces 28 

Steele Creek Church 200 

Stillman Institute 153 

Statistics in South 24 



294 Index 

Strong, Dr. Josiah, quoted 15 

Subscription Forms 124 

Suggestions 244 

Summer Conference 235 

Synodical Organization 228 

T 

Texas-Mexican Missions 175 

Thompson, Harriet, quoted 66 

Trained Leadership 238 

Training for Country Work 210 

Tyler, Dr. J. W. quoted 53 

U 

Unoccupied Lands 6 

Unreached Masses 8 

W 

Western Frontier 38 

Wilson, Woodrow, quoted 26 

World's Greatest Mission Field 13 

World Factor 35 

Woman's Work 219- 221 

Woman's Responsibility 236 

Y 

Young People's Work 236 



